► Audi is coming to F1 in 2026
► What’s happened so far
► And how will they do?
You can see why people are sceptical about Audi’s prospects in Formula 1, with some current teams confiding they’re not sure Audi will ever break through as an F1 frontrunner, despite its incredible Le Mans legacy.
Rumours of wavering commitment have flared up periodically in Germany – most recently triggered by the news that Audi will shut its Brussels plant in February – but are consistently denied. It seems wrong, say the doubters, for Audi to be investing so much in F1 when its main business, making road cars, is going through a lean spell. But Audi is adamant it is committed to F1.
The sport is booming, so the team’s value will only increase. Quitting now would be absurd unless there’s a buyer willing to spend a 10-digit sum. Audi’s F1 team isn’t a start-up. A deal was struck to acquire a controlling stake in Sauber in 2022. The name won’t change until 2026, but Audi has been quietly on the F1 grid for two-and-a-half seasons.
Sauber uses Ferrari engines today, but in 2026 Audi’s power unit will arrive. Work is well advanced on the 1.6-litre turbo engine, built to new rules requiring a 50:50 split of hybrid and internal combustion energy. That project is based in Audi’s Competence Centre Motorsport in Neuburg an der Donau. As long ago as June 2024, engine project boss Adam Baker said its full power unit ‘is running dynamically on the test bench’.
The driver line-up has now been confirmed, starting with Sauber in 2025, and in place for at least the next three years. Veteran Nico Hulkenberg joins from Haas, satisfying Audi’s desire for a German driver, with 20-year-old Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto bought out of a McLaren ‘development driver’ contract to partner him. Audi CEO Gernot Dollner was keen on a young driver, hence the ousting of 10-times GP winner Valtteri Bottas.
The key personnel off the track are also now confirmed, after a rocky start. When the Audi/Sauber deal was struck Frederic Vasseur ran the team, but he left for Ferrari at the end of 2022, with Andreas Seidl, architect of Porsche’s Le Mans successes in the 2010s, already lined up to come in as CEO. A power struggle developed between Seidl and Audi’s Oliver Hoffmann, with both ousted in July.
In their place came Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team boss in 2019-2022, who took up the dual role of chief operating officer and chief technical officer. In the summer of 2025, Jonathan Wheatley, a key architect of Red Bull’s success, joins as team principal.
Sauber needs to sharpen up on track, as the team’s regression from sixth-best in F1 when the initial Audi deal was done to the worst right now is an indictment of the wasted time. The fact that number one driver target Carlos Sainz turned down a big money Audi deal to join struggling Williams is also pretty damning and feeds the scepticism.