Audi will work with Sauber starting in the 2026 season. Frederic Vasseur explains how the collaboration will work.
The Formula 1 collaboration between Alfa Romeo-Sauber and Audi will begin in 2026, according to the Swiss company’s boss Frederic Vasseur.
Audi will compete in Formula One under the new engine restrictions and will team up with Sauber, who makes and operates the cars that now have Alfa Romeo stickers.
The Sauber name will comeback for seasons ’24 and ’25 before Audi’s debut, after the completion of the Alfa contract in 2023.
Vasseur’s squad must scale up in order to reach Audi’s three-year goal of being competitive for victories in order to prepare ready for the German company’s entry.
They will first be working off of a model created by Renault/Alpine.
Vassuer on Sauber/Audi plans
“Firstly, we will split completely operations,” Vasseur responded when questioned about the approach for the Audi-Sauber partnership.
“They will be in charge of the engine in Neuburg and the team will take care of the chassis and the operation on track from Hinwil.”
This partnership will work similarly to how Renault/Alpine has done so since coming back to Formula One in 2016.
At this regard, the engine is dealt in Viry, France, while the chassis is handled in the Enstone facility in the United Kingdom.
The other option is to follow Ferrari’s footsteps.
At Maranello, everything is completed in-house. Red Bull followed suit and established its own Red Bull Powertrains to take over the servicing of the Honda power units once the Japanese company left at the end of 2021.
Limited shares of Audi
Vasseur also stated that although some of the company’s shares will be bought by Audi, the major goal was to improve the team’s competitiveness.
“They will take some shares in the company in the future but we didn’t disclose the details of this and I won’t do so,” Vassuer explained.
“I think it is a good way to operate the team, and we had a look at what was working in the past for other teams, but the most important for me is not just the setup in terms of shares or who is managing who, it is a matter of mindset.
“To be able to build up in terms of strategy to be one single team and not to have [internal] ‘teams’ fighting each other.”
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