Audi Announces Its Entry In F1, Starting In 2026

As the world is about to go abuzz with the imminent entry of iconic Volkswagen Group brands Audi and Porsche into F1, Audi has made things official. Just hours ago Audi Sport’s Twitter handle was teasing the announcement into F1 as F1 returns to race this weekend at the iconic Spa Francorchamps. Now, Audi CEO, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali in a joint press conference announced Audi’s foray into F1. 

The original tweet by Audi Sport said,” more rings coming, watch this space for more,” with a graphic showing what is a rear wing of a modern F1 car. Audi is widely reported to be acquiring a majority stake in the Swiss-based Sauber team which currently has a marketing partnership with Alfa Romeo and an engine supply deal with Ferrari. 

Audi is set to acquire a majority stake in the team while its current investors will also get a board seat. Audi is paying more money for a slightly smaller stake than what Andretti Global offered the team while also agreeing to use its state-of-the-art facility in Hinwil for the development of the chassis something that happens even right now. That being said, Audi is yet to make the Sauber acquisition official. 

“There can be an Audi engine in an existing car, but we will not build the entire operation from the ground up,” said Duessman hinting at the acquisition of a team. 

Audi also says that it will invest as much as it has invested in the other racing series it competes in. It noted that the F1 budget cap was one of the major motivators for entering F1. “Making money is always good, but we don't need to,” said Duessman. 

The engine will be developed by Audi in-house and will be separate from what Porsche ends up doing. The new F1 engine formula which will start in 2026 has been designed keeping the needs of the Volkswagen Group in mind and when discussions happened Audi CEO Markus Duesmann and former Porsche CEO Oliver Blume were also involved. 

Blume will soon become the CEO of Volkswagen and Duessman addressed the media that nothing will change when Blume takes over from Herbert Diess as the head of Volkswagen. Duessman also said that he felt being competitive from the word go would be unrealistic but felt that should happen within the first 3 years of the operation.