Are Audi pulling out of the F1 project after all? Sauber respond!
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
Rumours abound in Formula 1 in recent weeks. One was quite remarkable: Namely, Audi are reportedly considering abonding their planned Formula 1 entry. The German group already responded immediately that all stories are nonsense and the team will take over Sauber (currently Alfa Romeo) from 2026 as planned. The team are now also commenting.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, currently Sauber/Alfa Romeo's team representative, had also seen the stories emerge. He was happy to be asked about Audi's (changed?) plans at the FIA press conference in Brazil. "It allows me to clarify the rumours that were around," the Italian said. "Audi has a strong commitment to Formula One and of course, together with Sauber. This commitment comes from a decision not only of the board of Audi, but also the advisory board of Audi and the supervisory board of Audi Volkswagen. So it's a group decision, and the commitment is there."
Why Audi barely talk about F1?
Yet little comes out about the project's progress. According to Alunni Bravi, this is deliberate. "We are Alfa Romeo Formula One Team Stake. So until the end of the year, we have certain limitation in communicating about the team, about the future, about the involvement of Audi. And we fully respect Alfa Romeo for this. And we don't want to make any kind of announcement more than what is strictly related to the race and the championship."
"The commitment, as I said, is there. We are working hard to develop the structure of the team. We have a strong recruitment plan in place. James Key is one, but we have on a weekly basis new appointments. It's not a matter of the involvement of Audi in financing the team or sustaining this development process. We have two owners, and two shareholders. There is a governance in place according to the different stages of the transaction that will be completed ahead of the 2026 season. So we are proceeding with the investment plan with everything in accordance with the governance that has been agreed," said the team's representative.