McNish denies rumours: 'Seidl arrival has nothing to do with Audi'

McNish, who is director of motorsport coordination at the Audi Group, is himself involved in the German manufacturer's F1 project through his role. It has been suggested here and there that Seidl's arrival had everything to do with this project by Audi, but the Scot denies that this is the case, stating that the decision came purely from Sauber.

'Seidl's arrival has nothing to do with Audi'

"Obviously they've had to change because Fred Vasseur moved from Alfa Romeo to to Ferrari, and Andreas came in to replace him, but that's all Sauber and Alfa Romeo that are dealing with that. It's nothing to do with Audi," McNish said at Autosport International.

Seidl suddenly left as McLaren team boss in December and made a surprise move to Sauber Motorsport, where he took up his post as CEO a month later. All this was triggered by the departure of Mattia Binotto at Ferrari, which paved the way for the arrival of Fred Vasseur. As a result, Alfa Romeo is still looking for a team boss and finding a suitable candidate will be one of the first tasks for Seidl.