Audi will be seen in Formula 1 from 2026. This became clear after the announcement of a partnership between the car brand and F1 team Sauber. F1 chief and former F1 team owner Ross Brawn predicts a successful partnership.
Audi and Sauber recipe for success according to Brawn
The Volkswagen Group came out with news in 2022 that it wants to enter Formula 1 with two of its brands from 2026. The plan was for Porsche to enter into a partnership with Red Bull Racing, but things remained quiet about Audi for longer. The situation has now been reversed; the deal between Porsche and Red Bull did not go through, but the partnership between Audi and Sauber has been confirmed. With that, Audi will replace the Alfa Romeo car brand.
Brawn sees a recipe for success emerging with the Sauber and Audi partnership, telling F1-insider.com: "Thanks to the combination with an existing team, they can be very successful. You can also go the wrong way: remember Toyota. They didn't succeed because they didn't take knowledge from an existing team and combine that with their own technology. But it is precisely this mix that is so important.”
Mercedes already preceded Audi
Toyota entered F1 in 2002 with its own established team. Until 2009, major successes did not materialise. The team's best performance was Timo Glock's P2 in that final year. Speaking about Audi's upcoming success, Brawn cited his own history in the sport and the Mercedes team as examples. "Mercedes did well. The team bought a team with a long history (Tyrrell, BAR, Brawn GP, ed.). Together with Mercedes' technology, that became a great combination."
Brawn says it's a good move from both Audi and Sauber to team up. According to the Briton, Sauber has more often shown to be a strong partner and dynamic. As an example, Brawn cites the partnership with BMW: "They were very close to great success. Sauber has good people and a good factory. You can't build something like this overnight. Sauber also has a good wind tunnel. We also used that to construct the current regulations."