Oliver Hoffmann, previously Audi's Board Member for Development, is to lead the Ingolstadt-based car manufacturer into Formula 1.

The Volkswagen subsidiary is taking over the Swiss racing team Sauber in its entirety, contrary to previous plans, as Audi announced in Ingolstadt on Friday. From 2026 onwards, racing cars in the world's largest racing series will be powered by Audi engines. With the complete takeover of the racing company from Hinwil near Zurich and Hoffmann in charge, preparations should be accelerated, the car manufacturer explained. "Hoffmann has extensive experience in motorsport and is therefore the right man at the right time," it said in the press release. "Motorsport, and Formula 1 in particular, is my great passion," explained the manager.

Audi boss Gernot Döllner rejected media reports that he had parted company with Hoffmann in a dispute. "The story starts at a completely different point," he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). Audi had reviewed its Formula 1 plans in the fall and had now decided to step up the pace. Döllner replaced Markus Duesmann at the head of Audi on September 1. He will take over Technical Development himself in future. According to the press release, Audi wants to shorten development times and create more efficient structures and clear responsibilities.

However, according to an insider, Hoffmann had already been criticized for some time. Audi has had to postpone the launch of new models several times. In March, after years of delay, the Q6 e-tron will be presented, which is to be the prelude to the much-heralded product offensive. Only recently, Döllner replaced Audi's long-serving Head of Design Marc Lichte and brought in Massimo Frascella from Jaguar Land Rover as his successor.

Originally, the car manufacturer only wanted to acquire an undisclosed majority stake in Sauber, which according to industry circles would cost around one billion euros. To date, the majority of the shares have been held by Islero Investments, which, according to media reports, is backed by the heirs of Swedish packaging manufacturer Tetra Laval ("Tetra-Pak").

Andreas Seidl is to take over the operational management of the Formula 1 team. He has been head of Sauber since last year and led the McLaren team from 2019 to 2022. Born in Lower Bavaria, Seidl began his Formula 1 career at BMW, Sauber's former partner. The team, named after company founder Peter Sauber, has been active in Formula 1 for 30 years. Until the end of last year, it competed under the Alfa Romeo brand. Following the end of the Italians' involvement, it is now called "Stake F1".

(Report by Alexander Hübner. Edited by Olaf Brenner. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)