Audi set to sell Sauber F1 team to Qatar sovereign wealth fund before even joining grid

Audi completed a full takeover of Sauber at the start of this year and the Formula 1 team will officially be rebranded ahead of the 2026 season, in which they’ll also debut their own engine

Audi are set to sell part of their Formula 1 team before even getting onto the grid.

The German automotive manufacturer completed a full takeover of Swiss-based team Sauber earlier this year and will rebrand them for the 2026 season. That’s when the Formula 1 regulations will change, with Audi debuting their first F1 engine, a 50-50 split between electric and combustion power.

But Audi will reportedly not have full ownership by 2026, as an investment from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund could be announced at the Qatar Grand Prix in three weeks’ time. German outlet Auto Motor und Sport report that the fund, which boasts hundreds of billions of dollars in assets across a range of industries worldwide, are close to finalising a deal to purchase a minority stake.

Audi, who haven’t commented, would still have a controlling stake in the team. It’s been suggested that the extra investment will go towards improving Sauber’s headquarters in Hinwil, Switzerland. Audi already had an existing 75 per cent stake in Sauber but that became 100 per cent in March.

It’s estimated that Audi have spent a total of $600million (£464m) on the team and their engine development is also expected to have a nine-figure cost attached to it. The team will still be called Sauber for the 2025 season, with Nico Hulkenberg, currently of Haas, and McLaren’s Gabriel Bortoleto confirmed as their drivers.

Sauber are currently rock bottom of this year’s Constructor Standings with three Grands Prix remaining. They remain the only team not to have recorded a single point, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu struggling all season long.

Ex-Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto is serving as Sauber’s interim team principal until Red Bull’s Jonathan Wheatley takes up the position next summer. Sauber haven’t operated with a team principal since Frederic Vasseur departed in late 2022.

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Binotto admits that turning Audi into a team who can fight for titles will be a tough ask. “It’s not only climbing a big mountain, it’s climbing Everest,” he told BBC Sport. “It will take several years. Our objective is by the end of the decade to be able to fight for the championships.

“We intend to become a winning team and to set the benchmark and to stay then. It is not a joining and leaving. F1 is the pinnacle of the motorsport, it is great Audi is part of it finally and they are simply committed to stay.” Binotto also stressed that Audi joined F1 ‘to be here and stay here’ and will do so ‘until we win and after’, describing it as a ‘long-term commitment’ to the sport.