Alessandro Alunni Bravi addresses the change from Sauber/Audi to bring in Mattia Binotto as F1 team’s CTO/COO and dropping Andreas Seidl, Oliver Hoffmann.
The move to drop Seidl and Hoffmann from their Sauber/Audi role didn’t come as a big surprise per se but the German manufacturer taking in Binotto did come as one, with the Italian veteran making his F1 return as the team’s CTO and COO.
He will be the link between Sauber/Audi’s board and the F1 team, where Jonathan Wheatley will be the team principal from July 2025 onward. He will join at a later date after serving the gardening leave put on by Red Bull.
Team’s current representative Bravi addressed the sudden change from Sauber/Audi for Binotto to take over from Seidl and Hoffmann. He explained why they took the step at this juncture where there is only a year left for the F1 team to start out.
Change with Binotto coming in –
Bravi: “I think that as a part of the complete takeover by Audi AG of all the shares in the Sauber Group, there has been a realignment of the control structures, aiming at redefined responsibilities, to have an efficient decision-making process with a clear management structure. In order to reach this goal, there has been also a new leadership team that has been put in place with Mattia Binotto, that has been appointed as a CTO and COO, reporting directly to the Audi AG CEO, Gernot Dollner. So I think that this is a very important, again, proof of the commitment of Audi into the F1 project. Mattia has a proven track record. He has a vast experience, more than 25 years in Formula 1, having led important project, first as an engine a leader of the engine department at Ferrari, then of course overviewing the technical department until his appointment as a team principal in 2019.
“So I think that is an important decision that give again the sign of the Audi commitment and that should help the team to bring our team up to the F1 speed in terms of decision process, in terms of leadership, and I think it is an important and good move for all our team. Every person has a different approach. It’s not a matter of just the profile, the background, the personality, of course. I know Mattia from many years, thanks to the partnership we had when Fred was our team principal at Sauber and the relationship with Ferrari. I think he’s very competent with a very proven background. And I think that he has a vast competence, especially in the technical matters. The message is clear. He will be leading Sauber Motorsport. He will have a full responsibility and accountability for the sporting success of the Audi factory team. I think he has all the characteristics in order to reach this goal and guide our structure towards 2026 and onwards.”
Your time with outgoing Seidl/Hoffmann –
Bravi: “First of all, let me say thank you to Andreas and Oliver because, of course, they have helped the team to start the project for the entry into Formula 1. So the first thing is for them, and to thank them about their contribution. I think that as of the Audi takeover, there was a need for a change of speed into the F1 project. We know that there is a lot of work to be done ahead of us, but we know also that it’s important that we appoint people that can help us to have a clear management structure. In order to work in a very integrated way between Hinwil and Neuburg, Because, of course, this is the target, you know, to work as a Formula 1 factory team.
“And this is something that will be even better implemented through the appointment of Mattia. And, of course, it’s not for me to comment on the individual, you know, background and the reason why. But I think that we need to not judge what has been done, if not thank Andreas and Oliver, but we need to look at the future. We need to look at the next steps. As I mentioned, there is a lot of work ahead of us. And I think that with Mattia, we can achieve the targets that are both the targets of Audi AG and all the people working in Hinwil and in Neuburg.”
Your own role –
Bravi: “I think that it’s clear that Mattia is the leader of the team and of course it will be part of his decision to establish the management team. I don’t think that this is relating to a single individual. I think that Mattia will start the 1st of August. He will have time to understand if the current management team and the entire organisational structure is what is necessary to bring up to F1 speed all our group. I think that what I can say is that Mattia has the full support of everybody at Audi, including myself, to have a quick integration and to have a full understanding of what is the current Sauber team and what, in our opinion, could be helpful to do the very next steps.”
Manufacturer board to not get too involved –
Bravi: “I think that we have said that there has been, after the complete takeover of Sauber Group, a realignment of the control structure. Targets are clear to have defined responsibility, to have efficiency in the decision-making process. And I think the fact that Mattia will be the clear, we have a clear leadership, reporting directly to Gernot Dollner, is an important sign of this new process that will, I think, help us to even further accelerate this transformation process. So I would say it is not a new dynamic, but it’s a correct dynamic that we need in order to perform all the tasks and also the challenges that are ahead of us.”
Here’s Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber drivers on Mattia Binotto
Here’s Audi naming Jonathan Wheatley as team principal
Here’s Mattia Binotto joining Audi
Here’s Audi naming Castrol/bp as partner
Here’s Sauber hiring Stefan Strahnz as Performance Director
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