Vasseur not yet working on drivers for project with Audi

Frederic Vasseur thinks it is still too early to speculate about the driver line-up with Audi. Quite a few names are already circulating, but Vasseur does not want to look that far ahead.

From 2026, Audi and Sauber will collaborate in Formula 1. Audi will manufacture the engine and become the team's title sponsor. The car will still simply be made at Sauber's factory in Switzerland. With the German name on the car, German drivers are also automatically considered. Audi would like to see a German in the car, but Vasseur does not want to think about that just yet.

Contract for Schumacher?

''Yeah, but as you said that it's a bit ambitious to speak about drivers for 2026, that we have the Academy, we are trying to develop young ones and so but it will be in the middle because if you are speaking about young kids often in go-kart today, it will be more for 2030 or 2032. For sure, we have Valtteri on board, we have Zhou on board , we have Théo in the pipeline,'' Vasseur revealed at the press conference in Mexico.

The name that falls a lot is that of Mick Schumacher. Fred Vasseur previously wanted to bring the German to Alfa Romeo, but was then trounced by Haas. Whether Schumacher will drive for the team in 2024 or later is not clear for now. ''But we will have time to discuss about this and I'm not sure that you have so many drivers on the grid with contract after 2026,'' the team boss concludes.