A real challenge for Audi in 2026
The German manufacturer will arrive on the grid in 2026 with ambitious goals. However, at the moment, the team is far from being able to claim to become a top team, which makes the Audi project even more challenging.
It’s a season to forget for Sauber. With six races remaining this season, the Hinwill team is the only one that has yet to score any points and is still waiting for its first points since the Qatar Grand Prix last year, where it managed to place both cars in the top 10 (8th for Bottas and 9th for Zhou). To make matters worse, the team made numerous mistakes at the beginning of the season during pit stops, making the task even more difficult for the drivers, who were giving their all in a car that wasn’t working.
New objectives at Audi
However, during the new regulations of 2026, when the Swiss team becomes Audi, they already hope to have a competitive single-seater, capable of scoring points on a regular basis. These were the words reported by former Sauber CEO Andreas Seidl at the beginning of the season. « What would a successful year 2026 look like for me? Having a competitive and reliable power unit at the start of the new regulatory cycle and surprising with a competitive car from the beginning, ultimately meaning having a globally competitive package. » However, with his departure from the team and the successive arrivals of Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley, the future Formula 1 team now prefers to take a step back, aware of the daunting task ahead to bring Sauber, the last team on the grid, back to success.
More modern infrastructure needed to make progress.
For Alessandro Alunni Bravi, current member of the board of directors and team representative, the quest for titles must be a long-term endeavor. But before that, the team must have better infrastructure and improve in all areas to hope to at least get out of last place. Clear and achievable goals now give a positive momentum to the project, according to the Italian. We have seen a change in the management structure over the past 18 months, both on the Audi and Sauber sides. I therefore think there has been a clear reassessment of the project, a realignment of goals based on the task ahead of us. We have a lot of work ahead of us to catch up with our competitors. We need to ramp up our efforts in terms of personnel, facilities, technology, and tools. But we already knew that.
« I think there is now a better understanding of what it takes – not only to improve, but to become a winning team. And with Mattia’s experience [Binotto, technical operations director of Sauber], the commitment of [Gernot] Dollner, I think they share a clear vision of the project and what it takes to succeed. » However, in order to achieve their goals, massive funding from Audi and new team sponsors is essential to build new infrastructures, a strategy used by McLaren for its new wind tunnel, and at Aston Martin with the arrival of Adrian Newey. A necessary development to adapt to the world of Formula 1, a constantly evolving universe, particularly in 2026 when the FIA will introduce its new regulations.
Recruitment up to the team’s ambitions.
This new stability within the Swiss team is also explained by a renewal of personnel, especially among decision-makers, with the arrival of Mattia Binotto, former director of Ferrari. A transfer that has allowed to eliminate the tensions that prevailed within the structure between Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann, which were starting to affect Audi’s progress behind closed doors, with a project that was on the verge of collapse, according to Ralf Schumacher.
For Alunni Bravi, Binotto is an essential asset that will be able to move the team forward starting now to ensure that the next season starts on a better footing. We are building a team together, and I think it is very important to lay solid foundations now. And the fact that Mattia was in Monza is a clear sign that his commitment is not only for the future, but that we must show progress now to be competitive in the future.
Binotto: experience already acquired in a top team
« He has full responsibility and is accountable for the team’s sporting success, and sporting success starts now, not in 2026. So we are building the foundations right now. » The former member of the Italian team hopes to bring his expertise and experience to this team, especially from the 2000s, when Ferrari was winning titles. A dimension he wants to continue at Sauber/Audi even if the operation seems challenging. « We know we are starting from a small entity. We need a clear business transformation, in terms of cultural mentality, but also in all aspects.
« And we simply have to, step by step, make the right decisions, seek the right solutions, and have a clear goal ahead of us in a few years to truly become a winning team, a reference in Formula 1. There is total support, I am convinced by the project and totally convinced that all of this is in our hands. I think assessing the necessary time is very difficult. The gap is significant, certainly. But for me, it’s great because I know I have a reference in mind. I think it will certainly help the project in terms of what we need to do, and then it’s about how we can do it as quickly as possible. »
Despite Sauber’s current performances, Audi does not intend to just make up the numbers when it joins the discipline and hopes that the new momentum the team has taken in recent weeks will allow it to score points in the short term, in order to consider the possibility of winning world titles in the long run.
