Audi officially announced its entry into F1 on August 26, although it did so without revealing with which team they would make the leap to the premier category of motorsport from 2026. Although everything seemed to indicate that it would be as a Sauber motorcyclist, which currently It operates under the Alfa Romeo name.
In fact, the movement of the Italian brand was evidenced when moments after the joint announcement by Audi and Formula 1, it confirmed that it would be disassociated for all purposes from the Swiss structure based in Hinwill at the end of the 2023 season, the last for which still had a signed contract in force.
In this way and with everything practically closed in the absence of the official announcement, Motorsport.com can confirm that Audi and Suaber have reached an agreement to announce their union.
Through a social media post, Sauber announced an “announcement coming soon” on September 27 . The tweet is carried out by the motto #KeepMakingHistory , which in Spanish would be: “Let’s keep making history!” .
However, and although that announcement on the 27th is not the union with Sauber, it is a matter of time before it becomes official.
The details of Audi’s entry into Sauber are still kept under the strictest secrecy. But rumors point to a purchase of 75% of the team’s shares (by 2026), with a share acquisition strategy that could start at 25% as early as 2024.
Finn Rausing (Tetra Pak), current owner of the Swiss team, will keep the remaining 25%, as he does not want to lose full control of the team . However, everything indicates that the team will be called Audi and will act as a factory team.
That will mark the start of a new chapter for the Sauber team, which was created by Peter Sauber, who sold his shares to investment company Longbow Finance in 2016 and walked away from the project.
Meanwhile, there is still no news related to the other brand of the Volkswagen Group that wanted to enter Formula 1. After breaking off its negotiations with Red Bull Racing, Porsche finds itself in a two-way alley, or finds an alternative at the height of the Austrian team, which seems complicated or they abandon their project to enter F1 in 2026.
