How a power struggle prompted Audi’s bombshell move for Binotto

Almost two years on from Audi’s official announcement of its Formula 1 entry, the smiles of that day are a long and distant memory.

Its team, still racing under the Sauber banner, is currently sitting last in the constructors’ championship without a single point to its name so far this season.

In fact, it has not finished in the top ten since the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix and there seems little hope of its challenger being able to get there on pace terms in the near future either.

But perhaps worse than the lack of clear results are the optics of the minimal progress that has been made since its Spa announcement as Audi gears up for its F1 debut. Efforts at its German engine facility may be flat out, but what is being delivered on track right now is not up to its standards.

Despite the huge financial might of the new owners, the Hinwil operation appears to have lost momentum, and that has sown seeds of doubts about what can be expected from Audi itself in 2026.

At this stage of the season, the team would have hoped to have had its number one target Carlos Sainz locked down to a contract that would tie his future to the German car maker.

Instead, the fact that Sainz was not convinced by what was on offer, and preferred to weigh up options at Williams and Alpine instead, told its own story about why Audi was not the so-called player it wanted to be in the driver market.

That lack of conviction in being able to attract the right driver is understood to have been mirrored when it came to personnel too – for there appeared to be a reluctance from quality staff to join a project they too were not believing in.

Stefano Domenicali, CEO, Formula 1, with Mohammed bin Sulayem, President, FIA, Oliver Hoffmann, Head of Technical Development at Audi Sport GmbH, Markus Duesmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG showcase the new Audi Sport F1 concept car

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Takeover impact

Audi’s takeover of Sauber was never going to have an immediate impact – especially with its official entry not coming until 2026.

But what perhaps took it, and former CEO Andrea Seidl, by surprise was how the transition phase of the takeover served as a means to frustrate its ambitions.

With former owner Finn Rausing still involved, and his support required for the funding of larger investments, the hands of the team and…