Audi keeps reshuffling: Is this man the next victim in the staff shuffle?

It was a remarkable construction. Although Andreas Seidl was in charge of Stake F1's F1 project, the German was rarely seen in the F1 paddock. The signpost to the media, among others, was and is Alessandro Alunni Bravi, originally a lawyer who had been given the role of team representative. He hardly has serious control. After the departure of Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann, as well as the imminent arrival of Mattia Binotto as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer, it is no longer even a question of whether Alunni Bravi will also leave the field, but mainly when.

Alunni Bravi was still appointed at the time when Finn Rausing was co-owner of Sauber (which thus goes by the sponsor name Stake F1) and thus an overblown of times that Audi would like to quickly forget. The Swedish billionaire has since been bought out by Audi, as the manufacturer felt the team under Rausing was stagnating in terms of development. Rausing did not feel the need to invest any more money in a team of which he was no longer a co-owner in the short term anyway. Audi, however, wants to be successful and is sad to see the current Sauber hobbling along as a walk-on in F1.

Audi quickly breaks with the past

In the hope of being successful faster, the dismissal of Seidl and Hoffmann (who could not like each other) should also be seen. With this, Audi is simply making it clear that it is leaving the (unsuccessful) past behind and rushing to improve the F1 project. And no doubt in the new structure - which Binotto has to shape - will therefore also lead to a farewell for Alunni Bravi.

The Italian himself did not want to speculate about his future at the soon-to-be German team. "I think that it's clear that Mattia is the leader of the team and of course it will be part of his decision to establish the management team," Alunni Bravi stated when asked at Spa. "I don't think that this is relating to a single individual."

"I don't think that this is relating to a single individual. I think that Mattia will start the 1st of August. He will have time to understand if the current management team and the entire organisational structure is what is necessary to bring up to F1 speed all our group." But whether Binotto will then also come to the conclusion that Alunni Bravi is a necessary link in the scheme of things is doubted by insiders. More likely, Binotto will take the reins tighter and be the face of now-stake F1 from the Zandvoort Grand Prix onwards.

This article was written in collaboration with Sophia Crothall.