Audi's F1 team explained: 2026 entry concerns as Binotto and Wheatley are drafted in

Audi’s 2026 Formula 1 entry looks to be in disarray after the two men leading the project have left, while Mattia Binotto, the ex-Ferrari team principal, and Red Bull’s former sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, have been hired to lead the team just 18 months before the car is due to run on track for the first time.

Audi is in the process of buying the Sauber team before it joins the grid for the start of a new F1 era, when new power unit and chassis regulations will come into force; it will be raced as an Audi car with an Audi engine.

There have been whispers that all is not well behind the scenes. These appeared to be confirmed in late July with the announcement that Andreas Seidl — who joined as team CEO in 2023, having been team principal of McLaren — would be leaving, and that Binotto would be joining as chief operating and chief technical officer. A week later, that was followed by news that Wheatley would become the new Audi team principal.

“Our aim is to bring the entire Formula 1 project up to F1 speed,” said Audi CEO Gernot Döllner of Binotto’s hire, adding that this would be by means of “clear management structures, defined responsibilities, reduced interfaces, and efficient decision-making processes.”

It chimes with the view of some insiders, who have suggested that the team had been waiting on funding to recruit the new staff it needed, and that it didn’t yet have the capacity to start work on its first car.

Binotto faces a complex set-up. He has been named chief operating and technical officer of Sauber Motorsport — part of the Sauber Group which is in the process of being taken over entirely by Audi. In 2026, the Swiss-based team will be rebranded as fully-fledged factory Audi effort.

Although he will be familiar with the structure that’s needed, having managed Ferrari’s engine department, worked as chief technical officer, and then team principal before leaving the team at the end of 2022, the Italian has already admitted that the Audi project is a “bigger challenge than the one I was expecting”.

While work on Audi’s 2026 engine has been underway for over two years, and the power unit has already covered simulated race distances, the Sauber F1 team has been struggling. Binotto has even called the team’s current position “very painful” and there has been little outward sign that its new owner is making the changes needed to be competitive.

The situation is now urgent, with rival teams thought to be accelerating work on the new generation of 2026 cars towards the end of this summer, as the final version of the new regulations take shape, although a ban on aerodynamic development is in place until the end of the year. Binotto has already stated that he will make limited visits to grand prix in 2025, instead choosing to devote more time at the factories in Switzerland and Germany where he says “we need to develop the most”.

Concerns over Audi’s competitiveness are thought to be a factor in Carlos Sainz turning down an offer from the team, despite reports of a lucrative contract offer. The sudden departure of Seidl will do nothing to calm the rumours.

The former McLaren F1 team boss joined as Sauber CEO in 2023 to oversee the transition from Sauber to Audi, and to direct investment where needed.

As recently as March this year, Audi made an announcement that Seidl — a Sauber employee — would continue to lead the team after the takeover as Audi F1 team CEO. “We have a clear roadmap for how we want to become competitive in Hinwil as well as in Neuburg,” said Seidl at the time. “We have ambitious goals. Realisation of them is in progress.”

Leaving alongside Seidl is Oliver Hoffmann, Audi’s chief technical officer who had even greater reponsibility, overseeing the entire project, including the Sauber team, engine development and Audi’s marketing.

How much did Audi pay for Sauber?

Neither Sauber nor Audi has produced any official figures on the takeover deal, but paddock whispers suggest that the initial sum — for 75% of the business — was somewhere in the region of $450m (£353m), which would give Sauber a value of around $600m (£470m). Since then, Formula 1 has become even more profitable, with other team vaues appearing to rise, so Audi may have had to come up with significantly more in order to take over the business entirely.

Even so, if the initial sum is even close to being correct, it would be a cheap deal for Audi considering that McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown asserted that every F1 team is now worth “at least $1.3bn” (£1bn) and Alpine‘s investors recently paid $220m (£173m) for a 24% shareholding in the Enstone outfit.

Who will drive for the Audi F1 team? 

Nico Hülkenberg is the first confirmed driver. He will join Sauber in 2025 with a contract that will take him into at least the first year of the Audi era, and appears to be a perfect fit given his German nationality, his pacy displays for Haas this season, and his experience which will be needed as the significantly new team looks to become competitive in F1.

The identity of his team-mate remains unknown for now. Carlos Sainz was thought to be its first choice, but has instead chosen to move to Williams. However, Sauber still has plenty of options, including Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacher, Gabriel Bortoleto, junior driver Theo Pourchaire or former F2 champion Felipe Drugovich.

“It is a priority,” Binotto told F1 when asked about securing Sauber’s driver line-up. “Why am I saying no rush? Now we have a list of drivers available and we can certainly take our time to discuss with all of them and to listen and to make the best for Sauber and Audi.

“Our journey is looking to the next years, it’s not only 2025 so when assessing the choice, we need to look at what is best knowing what we need to achieve in the future.

“Valtteri [Bottas] is doing well, and certainly I have already [had] some discussions with him. A good first impression but, having said that, there are many drivers on the list and we need as Audi to take our time to assess what is best. And hopefully soon we come to a decision.”

Sauber is thought to want a driver who can bridge both 2025 and 2026 seasons to provide some continuity during a period of intense upheaval for all teams — but particularly Sauber/Audi.

What will the Audi-run F1 team be called?

With its stake in the F1 team set to be reduced to zero, the historic Sauber moniker — which made its first appearance on an F1 grid in 1993 — is set to be fully replaced by Audi in 2026.

The team may well offer naming rights to a sponsor, although it’s unlikely to be as dominant as Sauber’s current Stake backing.

Will the staff stay the same? 

Before leaving the team, Seidl spoke of expanding the current Sauber team of 600 to 900 personnel, so most of the changes are likely to come in the form of new hires, rather than replacing existing staff.