Audi acquires 100% stake in Sauber F1 team.
Audi announced Friday that it will take a 100% stake in the Sauber F1 team for the 2026 F1 season.
Audi announced in 2022 its plans to enter Formula One in the 2026 season as both constructor and power unit supplier, purchasing a stake in Sauber at the start of 2023. In a press release, Audi said it had reached an agreement with its current majority shareholder, Islero Investments AG, to buy the team outright, as had been suggested in a March press release.
Andreas Seidl, who moved from McLaren to Sauber in 2023, will continue as CEO of the newly reborn Audi team. Seidl will serve as the "face of the future Audi F1 team."
In addition, current Audi technical boss Oliver Hoffmann will step down from his current role on the automaker's management board to become chairman of Sauber's board. Hoffmann previously headed Audi Sport, overseeing the DTM and Formula E programs.
Sauber will remain an Audi factory team and will continue to operate from its current base in Hinwil, Switzerland. Unusually for a relatively small F1 team like Sauber, this base has its own wind tunnel.
Sauber is one of the longest established independent teams in F1, having entered the series in 1993. However, this is not the first time the Swiss team has partnered with a manufacturer. Initially backed by Mercedes-Benz, Sauber had a successful sports car program. It was also part of BMW from 2006 to 2009, during which time it scored its only victory. And from 2018 to 2023 it was branded Alfa Romeo.
