Audi has announced that it has completed its planned full takeover of the Sauber Formula 1 team before it enters the sport in 2026.
The German manufacturer revealed its intentions to purchase the Swiss-based outfit back in 2022 – with its arrival penned for the new regulations next season.
The news comes mere months prior to Sauber’s last campaign running that moniker beginning with the Australian Grand Prix commencing a 24-round season.
Spearheading the team’s prospects for 2025 will be veteran driver Nico Hulkenberg and the reigning Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto in an all-new line-up.
Originally, Audi was set to only acquire 75 per cent of the team – but that changed in March 2024 when plans for an entire takeover were released to the public.
An Audi spokesperson has since revealed that the takeover has been completed “as planned”.
The statement read: “Closing was concluded in January, as planned.
“Audi now is the 100 per cent owner of Sauber Holding AG, the mother company of the team.”
The price was not disclosed but is believed to be in the region of €600million.
Audi will be backed by investment from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) after the sovereign wealth fund acquired a significant minority stake in Sauber Holding AG touted to be around 30 per cent last November.
Sauber/Audi received an added boost this week with the revelation that Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley is set to start his new position sooner than anticipated.
Wheatley joins the impending Audi venture from Red Bull, where he was the long-time Sporting Director, as it has agreed to an earlier release date than planned.
Sauber team representative Alunni Bravi departs
Just moments before reports of Wheatley’s early arrival, Sauber confirmed the imminent exit of Team Representative and Managing Director Alessandro Alunni Bravi.
Alunni Bravi took over from Frederic Vasseur, who departed for Ferrari, as the Italian effectively headed Sauber’s trackside operations for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Mattia Binotto, Sauber’s COO and CTO, will act as interim Team Principal for the first two races in Australia and China, with Wheatley in place for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Binotto paid tribute to Alunni Bravi’s contribution in a statement on the Sauber Motorsports website.
“Alessandro played a wide range of roles within the team, steering it through difficult and exciting times alike,” he said.
“As he moves onto a new venture, the whole company would like to thank him for all his energy and contributions over the years and wish him the best for the future.”
Alunni Bravi added: “It is an emotional time as my journey with Sauber reaches its end.
“Since I joined in 2017, I have seen this team grow and change beyond what anyone could have imagined.
“This organisation went through exciting and difficult times alike, all without ever losing its spirit and its commitment, which is something I find inspiring, and I was proud of being able to represent the team as its public face in the last two years.
“As I move on to a new project, I want to thank Finn Rausing, all those who put so much trust and faith in me at Sauber and Audi, and all the colleagues I have been working with for the last eight years.
“This team is a family and has a bright future ahead.”
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