Audi is reportedly eyeing Brazilian former Formula1 driver Cristiano da Matta as team boss of the new German racing stable. This reports the Italian newspaper La Gazetta dello Sport.

Now that a possible partnership between Porsche and Red Bull has failed, everything is focused on Audi, the other brand of the Volkswagen group. It was recently announced that Audi will make its entry into the premier class from 2026. From that year, there will be new regulations for power sources in which the MGU-H will disappear. Audi already has clear ideas and is making a lot of investments. New buildings will be added at the Neuburg headquarters, near Ingolstadt, in the coming months. New people will also soon be sought to be added to the current workforce of 120.

Vasseur to make way?

That leaves the most important step, team collaboration. Audi has made it clear for some time that it is not interested in a role of simple power source supplier, but wants to influence a team's choices. Audi is said to have set its sights on Sauber. Negotiations are ongoing and if the deal is reached, the management will most likely change as well. That would mean Frederic Vasseur would have to make way for a new name. For now, no successor is known, but the Italian medium reports that it could be Da Matta. The Brazilian drove 28 Grands Prix at Toyota in 2003 and 2004 at Toyota, scoring 13 points.