Formula 1: Audi to acquire 100% of Sauber and will enter in 2026, Andreas Seidl named team CEO

German car manufacturer Audi is to acquire 100% of Sauber Motorsport, the Swiss company that owns the Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and will enter Formula 1 as the Audi Formula 1 Team as soon as the new power unit regulations are implemented, i.e. for the 2026 season, announced Formula One Group on 08/03/2024.

Volkswagen had announced its intention to see two of its brands, Audi and Porsche (see below), enter Formula 1 on 07/04/2022. Audi's initial plan was to acquire a minority stake in the Sauber team, for which it would also become the engine manufacturer, as indicated by both parties on 26/10/2022.

• Germany's Andreas Seidl, who was head of McLaren Racing from 2019 to 2022 and then appointed CEO of Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber (then named Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake) in 2023, will continue in his role after Audi's takeover.
• Oliver Hoffmann, who currently heads Audi's technical department, will occupy the newly created position of general representative and will be responsible in particular for "knitting together the Formula 1 team" and "the strategic steering and activation of the…