Sauber will have a new title sponsor before Audi’s arrival
Sauber and Alfa Romeo will no longer collaborate at the end of the season. Despite the two years preceding Audi's arrival, the team does not plan to remain inactive.
Alfa Romeo will officially leave Formula 1 at the end of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Audi, which will join the team in 2026, doesn’t plan on hitting the track before that date. Despite these two years without a car brand sponsorship, the team does not intend to just make a token presence.
A “title” contract for 2 years
Next season, with no sponsoring partner, rumors were circulating about the possibility of Audi appearing as early as 2024. However, Sauber’s director firmly denied these speculations. Audi will enter in 2026, declared Alessandro Alunni Bravi. Commercially speaking, it is important to have a big impact in 2026, not diluting Audi’s involvement with the team. Therefore, we will continue as Sauber, building on the group’s heritage.
Despite these two years of waiting, Sauber intends to continue developing. A “title” sponsor should soon be officially announced for the next two championships. We have already planned the next step, declared the Sauber director in the pages of AutoSport. We signed this title partner already at the beginning of 2022 for the next two seasons. The FIA will publish the entry list for 2024 around December 10th, and we will also announce the team name for the next two seasons at that time. Everything is clear for us. I want to emphasize that these are not two transitional years. They are two years that are part of a long-term project that is meant to take the team to the next level.
Audi remains very involved
Audi and Sauber communicate very little about their collaboration. While the agreement was officially announced in early 2023, Audi’s lack of visible involvement has fueled other rumors on the internet. Speculations even questioned the ability and willingness of the German manufacturer to commit to F1. However, the Sauber director stated that he had meetings with Audi executives. Everything is proceeding as planned.
« Between Vegas and Abu Dhabi, I have been to Ingolstadt, stated Alessandro Alunni Bravi. « I have seen people who are fully committed and who work really hard. We know that the challenge is great, but there is total commitment. The F1 project was approved by Audi’s board of directors, confirmed by Audi’s supervisory board, and then confirmed by Volkswagen’s supervisory board. Therefore, it is a commitment at all levels within the group. The change in CEO does not change this approach, as it was not a decision of an individual or the board, it was a decision of the group.
Audi is expected to arrive in 2026 when the current regulation is reset. The goal is to join Formula 1 when all the teams start from the same point.
