Tag: Audi

Hulkenberg to leave Haas for Audi project in 2025

Nico Hulkenberg will join the Audi Formula 1 project by moving to Stake in 2025 on a multi-year deal, bringing an end to his time racing for Haas. Haas signed Hulkenberg ahead of the 2023 season after he had been out of a full-time Formula 1 seat …

Nico Hulkenberg will join the Audi Formula 1 project by moving to Stake in 2025 on a multi-year deal, bringing an end to his time racing for Haas.

Haas signed Hulkenberg ahead of the 2023 season after he had been out of a full-time Formula 1 seat for three years, and the German duly delivered impressive performances, particularly in qualifying. This year his strong form has continued, with three point-scoring results in the first five races, making him a key target for Audi when it becomes a full constructor from 2026 onwards.

“I’m returning to the team I worked with back in 2013 and have fond memories of the strong team spirit in Switzerland,” Hulkenberg said. “The prospect of competing for Audi is something very special. When a German manufacturer enters Formula 1 with such determination, it is a unique opportunity. To represent the factory team of such a car brand with a power unit made in Germany is a great honor for me.”

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With Hulkenberg becoming the first confirmed driver for Audi when it enters in 2026, future Audi F1 CEO Andreas Seidl — currently CEO of Sauber Motorsport AG — says his experience will be vital to the team’s development.

“We are very pleased to welcome Nico back here in Hinwil from 2025 and to compete with him in Formula 1,” Seidl said. “With his speed, his experience and his commitment to teamwork, he will be an important part of the transformation of our team — and of Audi’s F1 project.

“Right from the start, there was great mutual interest in building something long-term together. Nico is a strong personality and his input, on a professional and personal level, will help us to make progress both in the development of the car and in building up the team.”

In addition to Hulkenberg’s returning to the team over a decade on from a year racing for Sauber in 2013, the agreement also marks a reunion for him with Seidl, who was the Porsche team principal in the World Endurance Championship when Hulkenberg won at Le Mans for the team in 2015.

The news also confirms the departure of at least one of the current Stake lineup of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu at the end of this season. Carlos Sainz has been heavily linked with a move to join the Audi project following the end of his Ferrari contract this year.

Audi link making Stake a player in F1 driver market

Audi’s arrival in Formula 1 for 2026 is making Stake a serious player in the driver market this season despite on-track struggles, according to team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi. The Sauber-run team has yet to score a point in the opening …

Audi’s arrival in Formula 1 for 2026 is making Stake a serious player in the driver market this season despite on-track struggles, according to team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi.

The Sauber-run team has yet to score a point in the opening five races and has been hampered by pit stop issues that have caused a number of slow stops, frustrating drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. Despite the challenging results so far in 2024, the fact that Audi will take over the team and enter as a full constructor in less than two years is leading to a lot of interest from drivers, according to Alunni Bravi.

“First, let me say that there are a lot of speculations around our teams and comments,” Alunni Bravi said. “And, of course, I don’t want to comment on speculation… But there’s all the teams. There are 14 drivers without a contract fixed for next year. So, as all the teams, we are speaking with different drivers.

“It’s not the time for us to take any decision. It’s time to provide our drivers with a performing car. But let me say that we are happy that it seems that we can play a role — a different role in the drivers’ market for the future — thanks to Audi’s announcement and all the investment that will be done in order to improve our team

“So I think that is good news for our team. Finally we are attractive and we are not spectators, we are a player in the market.”

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During the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko claimed discussions with Carlos Sainz had left him feeling that Red Bull could not compete with an offer Audi had made to the Spaniard, but Alunni Bravi says all teams and drivers are likely to have multiple discussions ongoing.

“I think they are mere speculation, because, every driver, I think, is speaking with a lot of teams to understand the situation, to understand if there could be a common vision on the project, especially for a team like us that is in a full transformation process ahead of 2026. But we are focused on our drivers and we respect our drivers.

“We know that we need to deliver better performance as a team. And this is the first step to start deciding what will be the driver lineup for the future. First, we need to consolidate our performance. So far, we didn’t score points. So I think that the main target, and the priority for the team, is to start scoring points and then to approach the drivers’ market, starting with discussion with our drivers and then having, of course, open eyes on the market.

“It’s not appropriate to disclose what could be the discussion in place. No one really knows what other teams are offering to the drivers, or are discussing with the drivers, and sometimes we don’t want to be part of a game that is done by others … I think that the car performance now is our priority and there will be time to take the right decision for the future.”

Audi confirms Sauber takeover ahead of 2026 F1 entry

Audi has confirmed it will completely take over the Sauber Group ahead of its Formula 1 entry in 2026, with Oliver Hoffmann becoming chairman of the board and Andreas Seidl CEO. The German manufacturer announced its plans to enter as a power unit …

Audi has confirmed it will completely take over the Sauber Group ahead of its Formula 1 entry in 2026, with Oliver Hoffmann becoming chairman of the board and Andreas Seidl CEO.

The German manufacturer announced its plans to enter as a power unit supplier from 2026 onwards back in 2022, later confirming that Sauber would become its works partner. Despite speculation about its commitment to the project due to managerial changes, Audi has now announced it is “accelerating its investment and a full takeover of the Sauber Group from current majority shareholder Islero Investments AG has been agreed.“

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“The entry into Formula 1 is not only the pinnacle of Audi’s very successful history in motorsport, but also as big a sporting challenge as it is a financial commitment,” Manfred Doess, chairman of the supervisory board at Audi said. “Through the bundling of Oliver Hoffmann’s responsibilities and the complete takeover of the Sauber Group, we are accelerating our preparations for the 2026 season.”

Hoffmann currently heads up the technical development division at Audi and is on the board, but will step down from those roles to become the general representative responsible for Audi’s entry. 

Hoffmann, who will also become chairman of the Sauber Group, has previously been head of Audi Sport, and oversaw multiple motorsport successes including the first-ever win at the Dakar Rally for an electrified drivetrain.

“I would like to thank the entire team at technical development for the great performance in recent years, and I am proud of the outstanding products resulting from our intensive work that we will bring to the streets in the coming months,” Hoffmann said.

“Motorsport, particularly Formula 1, is my big passion. I am convinced that by bundling responsibilities and taking over 100 percent of Sauber Group, we will further accelerate our preparations for the launch in 2026.

“I am pleased we were able to secure the services of Andreas Seidl as Audi F1 Team CEO. He is exactly the right man for our ambitious plan. Thanks to his broad experience from leadership roles on the manufacturer and Formula 1 team side, he will make a significant contribution to Audi’s Formula 1 project.”

Seidl joined Sauber from McLaren just over a year ago, and has been working largely behind the scenes as Alessandro Alunni Bravi takes on team representative duties for the F1 outfit now known as Stake. However, Seidl will officially become CEO of the Audi F1 Team, and says the takeover will help with future plans.

“I thank Gernot Doellner (Audi chairman of the board of management) and Oliver Hoffmann for their trust and am looking forward to leading Audi into Formula 1 together with a highly motivated team as CEO of the Audi F1 Team,” Seidl said.

“We have a clear roadmap for how we want to become competitive in Hinwil as well as in Neuburg. We have ambitious goals. Realization of them is in progress and will be further accelerated through the complete takeover of Sauber by Audi AG.”

Audi chasing WEC return with Sainteloc

Audi Sport Customer Racing is pushing hard for a two-car FIA WEC LMGT3 entry with its longstanding French customer Team Sainteloc, RACER has learned. Last week’s Goodyear LMGT3 tyre test entry for Portimao, which was attended by eight prospective …

Audi Sport Customer Racing is pushing hard for a two-car FIA WEC LMGT3 entry with its longstanding French customer Team Sainteloc, RACER has learned.

Last week’s Goodyear LMGT3 tyre test entry for Portimao, which was attended by eight prospective WEC LMGT3 manufacturers, included an R8 LMS GT3 EVO II fitted with newly developed closed-loop torque sensors required to meet LMGT3 regulations.

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There, the car ran on 2024 Goodyear tyres for the first time with senior Audi technical staff on hand, factory driver Christopher Haase and as well as Sainteloc team director Frederic Thalamy, its owner Sebastien Chetail and additional engineering staff from their outfit.

RACER asked Thalamy if its presence in Portugal was part of its preparations for the 2023/24 Asian Le Mans Series season. There, Sainteloc hopes to win the GT class title and secure a Le Mans invite. This is because over the summer, prior to the Asian Le Mans entry list being revealed, Thalamy described that effort as the team’s one and only chance to get to Le Mans with the R8. “After next year it’s finished,” he told RACER.

However, Sainteloc’s plans have developed and now extend further than an Asian Le Mans Series campaign. The French team, with the full support of Audi, was keen to test on Goodyear tires with a car that meets the 2024 regulations because it is planning to run in the full FIA WEC season, not just at Le Mans.

Thus, it opted to run exclusively on Goodyear rubber in Portugal, unlike AF Corse which turned laps with both Goodyear LMGT3 tires and Michelin’s Asian Le Mans Series GT product to prepare for customer entries in both ACO championships.

“We are here to achieve something, to get into the FIA WEC,” Thalamy told RACER. “It is WEC or nothing. Everybody is pushing very hard to get entries, we are pushing for two, we would like two cars, but we would take one.”

The feedback RACER received from Thalamy and Haase at the test was overwhelmingly positive. Thalamy was keen to comment on how impressed he was with the level of service Goodyear provided, and Haase was hugely complimentary of the tyres. “I have been really surprised, the car worked straight away out of the box. I was so happy with the level of grip and feedback. It was joyous,” Haase said.

If successful, it would mark a return to the World Championship for the German brand for the first time since its LMP1 Hybrid R18 program came to a close in 2016. The hope is that Audi’s previous loyalty to the ACO during the LMP1 era, plus Sainteloc’s level of ambition to compete, will be enough to secure places on the grid.

However, LMGT3 in 2024 is going to be oversubscribed in both the FIA WEC and ELMS (and Sainteloc has no plans to compete in the ACO’s European series). With no Hypercar program or customer team currently competing in the FIA WEC, Audi’s current plan doesn’t fit either of the publicly stated selection criteria, which will give priority to OEMs in Hypercar and teams that have been loyal to the FIA WEC.

If the WEC’s full-season entry cap is 36 cars and the split between the two classes is 18-18, then Audi, like Mercedes-AMG, would appear to be on the outside looking in. This is because Aston Martin (Prodrive/Heart of Racing), BMW (WRT), Corvette (TF Sport) Ferrari (AF Corse), Ford (Proton), Lamborghini (Iron Lynx), Lexus (ASP), McLaren (United) and Porsche (Manthey) are all seeking two-car entries.

Nevertheless, Audi Sport is pushing hard to be a part of the FIA WEC next season, despite its plan to scale back its customer sport program significantly from 2024 onwards.

RACER understands that it will provide both factory driving and engineering talent for Sainteloc’s WEC bid, and is fully supportive of Sainteloc and Attempto Racing’s Asian Le Mans Series plans.

Audi set to test full PU and hire 300 F1 employees by end of 2023

Audi says it is on track to run a full power unit on its test benches by the end of this year, as recruitment of staff for the manufacturer’s Formula 1 project is due to peak at over 300 at the same time. Audi enter F1 as a full constructor in 2026, …

Audi says it is on track to run a full power unit on its test benches by the end of this year, as recruitment of staff for the manufacturer’s Formula 1 project is due to peak at over 300 at the same time.

Audi enter F1 as a full constructor in 2026, partnering with Sauber for its works entry that will also include its own power unit. Under the umbrella of Audi Formula Racing GmbH the team has been established at Audi’s facility in Neuburg an der Donau in Germany, and it is presenting its F1 project during the ongoing Auto Shanghai motor show, where it confirmed the intention to run its first full power unit by the end of this year.

The final quarter of 2023 is also when Audi says it expects to complete its hiring of staff for the project, with a total of over 300 planned despite the partnership with Sauber.

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“More than 260 specialists are already on board,” Audi confirmed in a press release. “The core of the development team consists of experienced Audi Sport and Audi employees with many years of diverse expertise in electric motorsport. They are joined by specialists with Formula 1 expertise who have been sourced externally and will strengthen the team in a targeted manner.”

Oliver Hoffmann — member of the board of management for technical development at Audi AG — says progress has been accelerating when it comes to Audi’s preparations to enter F1, with additional test rigs for power unit development set to be installed in a new 32,000 square foot building at Neuburg later this year too.

“The Audi Formula 1 project has really taken off in recent months,” Hoffmann said. “In the ongoing concept phase of the power unit, the foundation of our drivetrain for 2026 is being laid today.

“We attach great importance to detail work, for example on materials or manufacturing technologies, and we also focus on topics such as the energy management of the hybrid drivetrain. After all, efficiency is a key success factor for Formula 1 and the mobility of the future, these approaches will advance both worlds.”

Sauber has already hired former McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl — who previously worked for Audi’s fellow Volkswagen Group brand Porsche — as its CEO to help with the transition from Alfa Romeo to Audi over the coming years.

‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans are thrilled this contestant is finally getting the Audi she missed out on

Charlene is getting her car, y’all.

Wheel of Fortune had a lot of fans mad this week on the internet.

Charlene, a contestant who went on the show earlier in the week, missed out on winning an Audi Q3 because of a technicality on the show.

She had to solve a final puzzle to win the car and she actually did it. She solved the puzzle. But she didn’t string the sentence together properly enough to win, according to host Pat Sajak.

The phrase was “Choosing the right word.” Charlene initially said “Choosing the right card” instead but corrected it before the timer ran out. The issue was she took a slight pause before saying “word” and finishing the sentence. So she didn’t win. That’s why fans were livid this week.

But there’s hope yet. Audi tweeted that they found Charlene and are giving her the car she deserves.

Good on them. That’s an easy win. Sure, it’s a brand thing. And we probably shouldn’t give Audi too much credit for this. But this was absolutely the right thing to do.

People were thrilled to see this.

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