It is reported that Audi and Sauber have agreed to an F1 partnership and may announce it at this weekend’s F1 Belgian Grand Prix.
Fellow Volkswagen Group Porsche has yet to announce an entry into F1, but an announcement of a joint venture with Red Bull is believed to be imminent.
Audi is said to have acquired a significant stake in Sauber, which runs the Alfafa Romeo F1 team, and could follow Porsche, Motorsport reports.
Last year, Finn Rausing, the majority shareholder of the Swiss company, rejected a takeover offer from American team owner Michael Andretti at the last minute.
But this time, Audi and Finn Rausing are said to have reached an agreement, with Audi taking a lesser stake in Sauber than Andretti, but at a higher price.
The two sides also seem to have agreed to keep Sauber as F1’s factory team in a scheme very similar to the one that united BMW and Sauber from 2006 to 2009.
Together, Sauber will continue to design and manufacture chassis at Hinwil, while Audi will develop its F1 power unit at its Neuburg site in Germany, which will be supplied from 2026.
Audi held talks with McLaren last year before approaching Sauber as a partner to realize its F1 ambitions.
An Autocar report last November went so far as to suggest that Audi had struck a deal to buy the McLaren Group, which includes its racing arm, McLaren Racing.
Both companies were introduced by former McLaren F1 driver Gerhard Berger.
“I have been in touch with McLaren,” said current DTM boss Gerhard Berger.
‘McLaren was a potential partner for Audi in F1’
But McLaren’s major shareholder, Bahrain Sovereign Wealth Fund Mumtalakat, ultimately voted against the deal.
Further talks were held with Williams and Aston Martin, but Audi seems to have finally chosen Sauber as its F1 partner.
Sauber Motorsport facility in Hinwil
