Why are Audi already interfering in Sauber's decisions?

Sauber and Audi have taken an important step in their future collaboration by bringing in CEO Andreas Seidl. The former McLaren team boss is expected to help the formation make their way up in the coming years and he brings a lot of experience with him. But why is Seidl's arrival already so important for Audi?

At the end of October, the two parties jointly came out with the news that they will enter into an intensive partnership from 2026. Audi are new to Formula 1 and, with Sauber, found a party with which they hope to be successful in the top motorsport class. In doing so, they made a clear agreement for the division of tasks.

Audi will be responsible for engine supply from 2026, when Formula 1 has a budget cap on engines. At the factory in Germany, they will reportedly deploy 120 employees for this purpose to ensure that the Formula 1 team can be successful. The car will be assembled at the Sauber plant in Hinwil.

Previous rumours of early collaboration

Sauber currently still have a partnership with Alfa Romeo, which is also the team's current namesake. That contract expires at the end of 2023, after which Sauber will drive around with a Ferrari engine for two more seasons. For now, however, it is unknown what will happen to the team name in 2024 and 2025.

Previous rumours of an early partnership with Audi are interesting in this regard. Indeed, there are rumours in the corridors that Audi will already take step-by-step ownership in those two years, although this has not been confirmed. With the arrival of Seidl, Audi are already providing influence, as he worked for Volkswagen in the past.

It therefore seems to be no coincidence that Audi have now responded to Seidl's arrival. They stated in an official press release that they are very happy to bring in Seidl, who should make sure Sauber chooses the right path in the coming years.

Audi looking for German talent

It is essential for Audi to step directly into Formula 1 successfully in a few years' time to keep the brand's name high. With Seidl, they have brought in a leader who not only carries a lot of experience with him and can therefore lay a good foundation, but is also of German descent.

If anything, the latter argument is even more important for Audi. Earlier, there were rumours that they were looking for drivers from Germany. For now, with Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou, they have a Finnish driver and a Chinese driver in-house respectively, but it cannot be ruled out that these will be swapped for German drivers in the coming years. With Seidl, they are already taking the first step in those thoughts.