- Audi's 2026 Formula 1 team will be run by Mattia Binotto
- Binotto was formerly Ferrari's F1 team principal
- Audi cleaned house at Sauber, the team it's taking over, with the announcement
Audi has ended the guessing game of who might be in charge of its upcoming Formula 1 program.
On Tuesday, Audi announced it recruited Mattia Binotto to its F1 project. Binotto will be both the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) within the leadership team of the new Sauber Motorsport AG team that will race as Audi.
Binotto resigned as team principal at Ferrari's F1 team in 2022. Binotto had been with the Italian automaker for 28 years, originally starting in 1995 as a powertrain engineer. The executive ultimately became the head of the Italian automaker's F1 team and motorsports department in 2019.
The Binotto announcement also came with an Audi F1 management restructure that will see both Oliver Hoffman and Andreas Seidl leave the project entirely.
Seidl, who joined Sauber from McLaren in 2023, was supposed to be the CEO of the new Audi team. Audi said he would be "the face of the future Audi Formula 1 Team" as recently as March.
Audi also announced in March it was taking a 100% stake in the Sauber F1 team as part of the preparation to enter the sport in 2026. And at that time, Audi said its technical boss, Hoffman, would become the chair of Sauber's board. Hoffman was previously head of Audi Sport and oversaw the DTM and Formula E programs. His role leading the Sauber board would also have him on the board of Audi's Formula Racing GmbH, which is overseeing Audi's F1 power unit development and aspects of the program beyond the day-to-day operations.
Instead, Gernot Döllner, who was named the CEO of Audi in 2023 and serves as chairman of the board, will now serve as chairman of the board for Sauber Motorsport AG.
Audi has already signed its first driver. In April, Audi announced Nico Hülkenberg will drive for the Audi F1 team when it enters the grid in 2026.
