Binotto reveals when Audi will be fighting for titles in F1
F1 News
Mattia Binotto, Sauber Motorsport’s Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer, has set a lofty goal for the soon to become Audi work’s team. According to the Italian, although there are still some milestones to be reached for the Hinwil based team, fighting for the title will be the goal in 2030.
Sauber had a rough 2024 season. Despite showing potential early on with potential points finishes in the first rounds of the championship, opportunities which were squandered due to sloppy pitstop work, the team’s C44 performance dwindled with the technical leadership being unable to find the right development path. That is until Mattia Binotto, former Ferrari chief, arrived as Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer. With the team showing stronger form in the closing stages of the year.
''As you can imagine, just building, maybe a new facility, it takes three years to attract people, and good people,'' said Binotto in conversation with Autosport. Several of those ‘good people’ have already been attracted to Sauber, like Jonathan Wheatley and Lee Stevenson, both of whom were key figures at Red Bull Racing, for instance, and with Nico Hulkenberg and rookie sensation, Gabriel Bortoleto, forming the team's lineup looking ahead to 2025 and beyond.
Binotto too ambitious with regards to Audi's future?
However, the Italian does not expect success to happen overnight, outright dismissing any illusions that success could come in 2025 or even 2026 for that matter, since, neither the facilities, the people or the tools will yet be in place, which leads to the team having the 'simple' goal of ''improving each single season''.
Where that may lead to, and more importantly, when? Binotto is clear: ''So maybe it's only in three years' time we can reach our objective of fighting for wins, and let me say the title by 2030. That's still very ambitious, very challenging. But that is how long it will take,'' concluded the Italian.
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels too!