Audi Plans Full Takeover of Sauber to Run Own F1 Team for 2026
(Bloomberg) — Volkswagen AG’s premium brand Audi is planning to buy out Switzerland’s Sauber Group’s F1 team, ahead of its plans to join the racing circuit in 2026, according to people familiar with the matter.
Audi acquired a minority stake in Swiss-based Sauber in January of last year, with an initial plan to reach a stake of as much as 70%, under then-Chief Executive Officer Markus Duesmann. Sauber is owned by investment firm Longbow Finance, which helps manage assets of the Rausing dynasty, the family behind Tetra Laval, one of the world’s largest food-packaging businesses.
Following Duesmann’s exit and the installation of his successor Gernot Döllner, those plans changed at the end of last year into a plan to pursue 100% ownership, one of the people said.
A spokesperson for Audi declined to comment.
Audi’s minority stake in Sauber was an “important milestone on the way to Audi’s entry in Formula One in 2026, for which the Sauber Group will be the brand’s strategic partner and its works team,” said a Sauber spokesperson. “We do not further comment about the team’s shareholding structure at this time.”
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Investors and car brands have been increasingly trying to get hold of stakes in F1 teams, which historically used to swap hands for as little as £1 and were the preserve of wealthy racing fans happy to subsidize a sport known for its thrills more than its financial returns.
Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll recently sold a stake to US private equity firm Arctos Partners, which also has stakes in the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club owner Fenway Sports Group, valuing the F1 team at about £1 billion ($1.3 billion).
Ford Motor Co. is also making a comeback in time for 2026, returning to F1 more than two decades after dropping out, after striking a deal with Red Bull in early 2023.
VW gave Porsche AG and Audi the green light to pursue separate F1 entries in 2022. Audi is currently building out its site in Neuburg with over 220 employees are working on the project. Audi acquired a minority stake in Sauber in January of last year, but declined to comment on the size or price paid for the stake.
Porsche’s attempt to enter F1 soon broke down after it ended months of talks with Red Bull GmbH as a potential partner.
Audi development chief Oliver Hoffmann is poised to step down and take on the F1 project, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing sensitive information. A short list of candidates to replace Hoffmann is expected to be drawn up and evaluated in the next two to six weeks, one of the people said.
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