The entrance of Audi, which will join Sauber as an official team from 2026, has definitively put an end to the relationship that linked the Swiss team to Alfa Romeo thanks to a sponsorship agreement stipulated in 2018. The announcement of the separation and marriage of Sauber with Audi, which arrived a year ago, over the weekend in Belgium led the group's top management to move towards other horizons until a solution was found: remain in Formula 1 thanks to a collaboration, renaming the power units of a team. It's been talked about for a long time May, but now the well-known author of Motorsport.com, Roberto Chinchero, is reporting some more details. The news has not yet been denied, much less confirmed by the two parties.
Sauber's transition
Alfa Romeo announced its return to F1 in 2017 with a long-term plan as title sponsor. The collaboration has brought benefits to both parties, so much so that it has led Alfa Romeo to extend the partnership with Sauber by one year for the 2023 season, with a careful eye on the performance of the Hinwil single-seaters. All until the arrival of Audi.
Sauber is preparing for the arrival of the prestigious brand whose work has already been called into question. In particular on the delay that would lead to the creation of the 2026 power units. The accusation was promptly refuted by team principal Alessandro Alunni Bravi: “As far as our program goes, it's going in the right direction. We know that there are constraints also linked to financial regulation, but together with Andreas Seidl [Sauber CEO] we are addressing all our weaknesses and trying to find all the best opportunities in the market”.
Alfa also takes another path
The choice to remain in Formula 1 would have been made after a series of evaluations also on categories other than F1. According to what was reported by Roberto Chinchero, a Monte-Carlo would have begun the first talks between the CEO of Alfa Romeo Jean-Philippeprendito, and the team principal of Haas, Gunther Steiner for a collaboration, albeit different from that had with Sauber. The American team has in fact made it clear that it does not want to cede the team title.
For 2024, therefore, a form of collaboration linked to the re-branding of the Ferrari power units would have been chosen. A compromise that would allow the Biscione company to remain in Formula 1, in a new guise. Without making Haas too uncomfortable and without linking the two realities too much.
Source: Motorsport.com
