Everyone in the world of Formula 1 is waiting with anticipation to see what happens when Audi make their debut in the sport in 2026.
The giant German manufacturer appear to have their work cut out as they prepare to take over Sauber who are rooted to the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship.
Speaking on the Missed Apex Podcast, journalist Joe Saward has shared his thoughts on the structure of the team.
Audi have already committed to a 100% takeover of the Sauber team before the start of the 2026 season.
It means they’re already making key decisions behind the scenes and are one of the main reasons why Nico Hulkenberg has been signed from Haas for next year.
Saward has admitted that the corporate structure of Audi is going to be something that the F1 team is going to have to negotiate over the coming months and years.
He believes that if for any reason team principal Andreas Seidl is sacrificed as a result, then the team might already be doomed.
Audi told they’re doomed if Andreas Seidl leaves the team
Although Audi won’t be starting from scratch when they enter Formula 1 in 18 months, they might wish they were.
Sauber are the slowest team on the grid at this stage and Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are not being given the easiest platform to showcase their talents with both drivers unlikely to be retained next year.
However, the prospect of becoming the newest factory team in the sport has made them a slightly more enticing project.
Hulkenberg described the opportunity to join Audi, via Sky Sports, as ‘very special’, and added: “When a German manufacturer enters Formula One with such determination, it is a unique opportunity.
“To represent the factory team of such a car brand with a power unit made in Germany is a great honour for me.”
One of the driving forces behind Audi’s introduction to F1 has been Andreas Seidl.
The 48-year-old German has had a very impressive F1 career up to this point and was team principal at McLaren back in 2019.
He joined Sauber in 2023 before becoming CEO of Audi’s F1 operations in March 2024 and Saward believes the team will be doomed if he departs at this stage of their development.
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Audi need full concentration on F1 project to make 2026 introduction a success
Speaking about the chiefs of the new Audi F1 team, Saward said: “He’s a corporate guy, not a racing guy.
“So, he’s bringing in people he knows from the corporate world and that’s not helping the racing guys who know what they’re doing because these guys again, just like at Renault, they come in, think they know all the answers and set everything up.
“There’s a level of that going on as well.
“We have to see who wins, at the end of the day if Andreas Seidl is booted out at the top of that program then you know the corporates have won.
“And if the corporates have won then the team is doomed, or at least doomed for a period of time because they need to get the racing attitude back.
“What happened with Seidl and the other guys, is the original boss of Audi came from BMW and he bought a bunch of BMW people with him who knew racing and they were the core of the Audi racing team.
“If they put in a bunch of guys who don’t know about Formula 1, they’re going to have problems.”
Who could join Nico Hulkenberg in Sauber’s 2025 driver line-up?
Nico Hulkenberg committed very early in the 2024 season that he wanted to join Sauber before they become Audi.
It makes sense for the 36-year-old who might be rolling the dice one last time to join a team that can provide him with a car that can end his long wait for a Formula 1 podium.
Audi have been chasing Carlos Sainz for months but it’s unclear whether the Spaniard will choose them over Williams.
Esteban Ocon has been touted as an option for Audi if Sainz goes elsewhere but he looks close to a move to Haas to replace Hulkenberg next year.
That leaves them looking further down their shortlist than they would have liked with Yuki Tsunoda another driver they liked before he committed his future to RB.
Bottas and Zhou might feel they have a chance of sticking around for 2025 at this stage if they run out of options.
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