A clandestine Audi F1 power struggle has already led to the resignation of two main choice makers throughout the workforce. And simply 18-months away from its launch, this has raised eyebrows up and down the paddock. Former German F1 driver Ralf Schumacher says he already has ‘concerns’ about how Audi is going about its first-ever factory-backed F1 entry.
The Volkswagen-backed German automaker grew to become a 100% proprietor of the Swiss Sauber workforce earlier this yr. It has additionally rearranged its large GT3 racing programme and shutdown an thrilling Le Mans Prototype challenge in lieu of racing in F1. However, its official 2026 emergence as a works workforce has been struck by rumours of an inside Audi F1 power struggle.
AUDI F1 POWER STRUGGLE
Sauber Chief Executive and Chairman Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffman, respectively, have been ousted by Audi CEO Gernot Dollner. “It’s a very big deal, changing major personnel even before the start of the on-track programme is very interesting,” says Ralf Schumacher.
Some suppose Audi made the choice due to in-fighting between the Seidl and Hoffman. And Sauber has languished and stagnated on the very backside of the 2024 standings … not even a scoring a single level in 2024 to date.
BUDGET ISSUES
However, Schumacher believes the Audi F1 power struggle had Seidl working with one hand behind his again. “The Audi project was actually on the brink of collapse because there was a small calculation error amounting to 1-billion Euros. The team had to be refinanced because no money was coming in. That’s why the decision was made to keep pay-driver Zhou Guanyu on to get money,” speculated Schumacher.
“As a result, nothing could really happen. They couldn’t hire any people and couldn’t offer any prospects. So, they just let the whole thing run as it was before. With all the sympathy I have for the team, a lot of things have to change at Sauber. And Seidl was fighting with blunt weapons,” Schumacher mentioned.
BINOTTO HIRE
However, the excellent news is that the challenge has not less than managed to achieve an skilled man in former Ferrari workforce principal Mattia Binotto as a results of the in-fighting. “They just have to be aware that in Formula 1, constant personnel changes is not a good thing. It’s not a big car corporation – it’s a Formula 1 team. Binotto is certainly someone who can do a good job, but it’s also a huge task for him,” mentioned Schumacher.
Another silver lining amid the Audi F1 power struggle is that Binotto will get alongside very nicely with the driving force they’ve been making an attempt to rent all yr, Carlos Sainz Jnr. But then once more so did Seidl, from his days racing with Sainz at McLaren. “Maybe the Sainz camp demanded certain personnel be hired and fired within Audi? The two know each other from Ferrari days and really enjoyed working together,” concluded Schumacher. – with GMM
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