There are currently nicer workplaces in the world than the F1 paddock at the moment. Pandora's box has been opened, so the atmosphere shouldn't be too good. Ford has previously expressed doubts about participation, but Audi is not afraid of the turbulent times in the sport. The German car brand still confirms that it will enter F1 in 2026 and is committed to it 100 percent.
The original idea was to buy 75 percent of the shares in Sauber, but Audi announces that they want to buy the entire motorsport company. The German car brand writes that there is already an agreement with investment company Islero, the current majority shareholder of the Sauber Group. With this they also buy the factory in Hinwil, Switzerland.
Audi will build F1 cars at the Sauber factory
In addition to the F1 cars, Sauber builds special racing wheelchairs for the Paralympic Games in this factory and they use 3D printers to make parts for old Ferraris. A potato harvester is even being built. Apparently the German brand finds this facility interesting. Audi wants to build the engines for the F1 car in Neuburg, Germany.
Audi's F1 team will be led by Andreas Seidl in two years. He served as team boss of McLaren between 2019 and 2022. He is now the boss of the umbrella organization Sauber Motorsport, but from 2026 he will become team boss of the Audi F1 team. Audi board member Oliver Hoffman will then become boss of Sauber Motorsport.
There are no reports yet about who will drive for the Audi factory team. Carlos Sainz is still unemployed after this year. Would he like a year of Sauber and then put on Audi overalls? Team boss Seidl talks about ambitious goals in the press release. He does not say what those goals are, only that they will be 'accelerated' by the takeover.
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