Sauber is happy that the information regarding the Audi project is behind the scenes with less information available for externals to judge.
Some reports noted about Audi being behind the schedule with regards to its 2026 F1 project especially on the power unit side, but naturally there is no confirmation which is anyhow difficult to get considering how tough it is to get information.
At their German base in Neuberg, Audi is continuously hiring personal and upgrading its facilities to be ready for its 2026 entry as a power unit manufacturer with Sauber. The idea is to get everything sorted by 2025 with maximum dyno runs to test the engine.
They have also hired Neel Jani with the development process and so far officially there has been positive responses. Even with some negative reports, Sauber boss Alessandro Alunni Bravi is pleased that not much information is available to the public.
He feels it is always difficult for anyone on the external side to ascertain the status of the development as it is an ongoing process. He says that they are on the right route whether it is on Audi’s side or on Sauber who are having a difficult run at the moment.
They are lacking a bit of consistency this year in terms of their performance which they are trying to fix upon working on their weaknesses. “First of all, I’m happy to hear that the Audi project is behind the shadow,” said Bravi.
“We don’t have this kind of information and it’s always difficult from the external people to understand what is the status of development of such an important programme like a new PU manufacturer entering to Formula 1. So concerning our programme, the programme is on the right route. We are working hard to develop the team in these next two seasons.
“We know that there are constraints linked also to the financial regulations but we are with Andreas Seidel addressing all our weaknesses and try to seek all the best opportunities in the market to bring quality into our team and to develop our facilities. So there is no change for us, nor for Audi.
“Audi project is based not on a single individual but is a project for all the company that has been, I would say, welcome at any level. And I think that there is no change. We work as a team, all together, to be ready for 2026. This doesn’t mean that the challenge is easy.
“We have such a strong competitor, we need to be really humble and to work on a daily basis at our best because the competition is extremely high for everybody, and especially in the PU manufacturer side, I think that the competition in 2026 will be really, really strong. So we just need to be focused on our job and nothing change with the departure of Mr Duesmann,” summed up Bravi.
Here’s Alfa Romeo on driver retention
Here’s Audi signing Nee Jani
Here’s news on Sauber taking in James Key
Here’s Sauber on not waiting for Audi to make changes
