Audi announced this Friday, in the run-up to the Belgian GP, that it will join F1 in 2026 as a manufacturer of power units. Its sister brand of the VW Group, Porsche , will follow in the near future.
Audi is expected to join Sauber, which currently runs the Alfa Romeo F1 team, although the final go-ahead has yet to be given.
Audi ‘s press release says it will announce the team they will join “by the end of this year”, while Audi’s chairman of the board of directors, Markus Duesmann, said at Spa on Friday that he will report “as soon as I know”. who will you work with
“The important thing was to nail down the power unit, so we had to decide on that, which is what we have announced today,” Duesmann said. “The decision about the team will be made during this year.”
Audi is understood to have explored a number of possible options to partner with for its entry into Formula 1 from 2026, including McLaren, Williams or Aston Martin.
Duesmann acknowledged that there were “very good chassis builders to join” and that Audi “talked to several” parties.
Motorsport.com reported earlier this week that Audi had reached an agreement with Sauber, to whom it would give factory support (something the Swiss team has not enjoyed since BMW left F1 at the end of 2009).
Duesmann declined to comment on links with Sauber, but said any deal with a team would be “a different form of commitment” from Audi.
The German manufacturer has chosen not to create a new team in F1, as it believes working with an existing team is more beneficial, as well as avoiding the $200m anti-dissolution fee required for new entrants.
“There is the possibility of having an Audi power unit in an existing car,” Duesmann said.
“It has to be changed, but we are not going to create a completely new team. At a development level, the starting point is much better if you start with an existing car.”
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