Sauber has announced more changes to its F1 team in terms of personnel ahead of the Audi takeover in 2026.
As the process of Audi takeover continues behind the scenes, – despite recent news from Volkswagen of shutting down factories – Sauber has announced fresh changes in terms of its personnel for the 2025 F1 season and beyond.
After the big hiring of Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley, Sauber has created a new Head of Engineering role which will be taken up by Giampaolo Dall’Ara, who makes a return to the Swiss outfit after moving away to set-up his own consultancy firm in 2026.
He worked with the Alfa Romeo DTM team and Sauber Motorsport prior to leaving on his own path. He will focus on car performance, where the company has integrated the Race Engineering department into the Technical Group.
Sauber Motorsport AG is announcing a trio of key leadership changes as part of the team’s ongoing transformation, as the organisation continues on its path of growth ahead of Audi’s entry into the sport in 2026.
In a fresh hire, Sauber has taken up former Ferrari Sporting Director Ignacio ‘Inaki’ Rueda in the same role from the 2025 F1 season onward. He is to succeed long-time director Beat Zehnder at the Swiss outfit, who moves onto a different role.
Rueda will look at the sporting activities and be a link between the F1 team and the FIA. Apart from Ferrari, he has been part of Jordan Grand Prix and Lotus previously. Zehnder, meanwhile, has been named Director of Signature Programs and Operations.
In his role, he will look after the heritage of Sauber Motorsport and throughout the 2025 F1 season, he will fulfill a supervisor role in the transitional phase to Audi. While the personnel changes continues, the second driver decision remains pending.
Apart from Valtteri Bottas, names like Gabriel Bortoleto has popped up in recent times. Other than that, it seems unlikely that Zhou Guanyu or Theo Pourchaire, will get a chance, or even Robert Shwartzman, who undertook two FP1 sessions in 2024.
Here’s Christian Horner on giving up Jonathan Wheatley
Here’s Valtteri Bottas on what is ailing Sauber/Audi
Here’s news on second driver
Here’s Sauber hiring Stefan Strahnz as Performance Director
Here’s Sauber naming Stefano Battiston as CCO
Here’s Sauber hiring Stefano Sordo as Performance Director
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