The German producer introduced final 12 months that it had agreed to a takeover of the Sauber outfit for its official entry as a producer squad in 2026.
Since then, nevertheless, it has stayed out of the general public highlight and never revealed a lot about its progress. This strategy has led to some questions on Audi’s dedication.
Earlier this 12 months there was hypothesis that the producer was behind in growth with its energy unit, whereas extra not too long ago there was a report within the German press that it was even contemplating backing out of its plans to enter F1.
Such speak has been strongly denied by present Alfa Romeo group principal Alessandro Alunni Bravi, who defined that there was good cause for Audi’s low-key strategy.
“Audi has a powerful dedication to System 1 and, after all along with Sauber, this dedication comes from a choice not solely of the board of Audi but additionally the advisory board of Audi and the Supervisory Board of Audi/Volkswagen,” he mentioned.
“So, it is a group choice and the dedication is there.
“Why there’s a lack of communication is easy. We’re Alfa Romeo F1 Group Stake. So, till the tip of the 12 months, now we have sure limitations in speaking in regards to the group, in regards to the future, in regards to the involvement of Audi, and we absolutely respect Alfa Romeo for this.
“We do not need to make any sort of announcement or greater than what’s strictly associated to the race and the championship. The dedication, as I mentioned, is there.”
Whereas Audi’s full takeover of Sauber is being deliberate in levels, and won’t be full till 2026, Bravi has denied that there’s any state of flux within the outfit by way of its funding plans previous to the German firm being absolutely in cost.
“We’re working laborious to develop the construction of the group,” he mentioned. “We’ve got a powerful recruitment plan in place. James Key [new technical director] is one, however now we have on a weekly foundation new appointments.
“It is not a matter of the involvement of Audi in financing the group or sustaining this growth course of.
“We’ve got two homeowners, you already know, two shareholders. There’s a governance in place in accordance with the completely different levels of the transaction that will probably be accomplished forward of the 2026 season.
“We’re continuing with the funding plan, with the whole lot, in accordance with the governance that has been agreed.”
