As the total takeover of Sauber completes

Connor McDonagh reports for Crash that Audi has formally confirmed its plan to fully take over the Sauber F1 team ahead of its 2026 debut.

Audi plans to enter F1 as a works team in 2026, building their chassis and power unit and taking over the existing Sauber outfit.

This plan has been formalized. Audi announced the news during final practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

It ends any doubt over Audi’s intention or commitment to be in F1 after many rumors during the last year.

They started when Markus Duesmann left the organization – he was integral to the start of the Audi F1 project.

His replacement, Gernot Dollner, clarified that Audi’s plan to join F1 is unchanged, and their complete takeover of Sauber is clear evidence.

It was initially reported that Audi would take over only 75 percent of Sauber, but that’s now a complete 100 percent acquisition.

Speaking of the news, General representative Oliver Hoffman said: “I would like to thank the entire team at Technical Development for the outstanding performance in recent years, and I am proud of the exceptional products resulting from the intensive work that we will bring to the streets in the coming months.

“Motorsport, particularly Formula 1, is my big passion. I am convinced that bundling responsibilities and taking over 100 percent of Sauber Group will further accelerate our preparations for the launch in 2026.”

Former McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has been confirmed as the CEO of the Audi F1 Team.

Seidl has been CEO of Sauber Motorsport since January 2023 after leaving the Woking outfit.

“I thank Gernot Döllner and Oliver Hoffmann for their trust and am looking forward to leading Audi into Formula 1 together with a highly motivated team as CEO of the Audi F1 Team”, Seidl added.

“We have a clear roadmap for becoming competitive in Hinwil and Neuburg. We have ambitious goals. Realization of them is in progress and will be further accelerated through AUDI AG’s complete takeover of Sauber.”