Whilst much of the focus was on Max Verstappen sealing his third world title over the Qatar Grand Prix weekend just gone, another headline-grabbing story saw claims made that Audi might be considering a shock pull-out from their Formula 1 entry for 2026 onwards.

The giant German marque has begun the process of taking over the Sauber team, currently badged up as Alfa Romeo until the end of 2023, and is scheduled to complete its takeover ready for the 2026 F1 season, which will see Audi run a works team with its own power unit.

Indeed, the news was confirmed at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2022 to much fanfare.

Bringing in a name like Audi is something that F1 wants to see more of in the future, with the sport enjoying huge growth in popularity. Companies like Ford are also set to be in the mix from 2026 as they link up with Red Bull, whilst Honda is partnering up exclusively with Aston Martin.

These big automotive hitters like the look of where F1 is heading with certain aspects of its 2026 regulations, including sustainable fuels, and Audi is set to join the power unit production ranks alongside the aforementioned Honda and Ford (who are complementing Red Bull Powertrains) as well as the already established Mercedes, Ferrari, and Renault.

The Audi project is one that F1 and many of the teams are going to cite as an example to follow for further potential teams wanting to join the grid – take note Andretti – and so any chance of the German giants suddenly pulling the plug would come as a blow.

Indeed, over the weekend, Radio Le Mans reported that the project is being reviewed and would be put to a vote by the board, with a decision on whether to continue with its F1 plans to be made at the conclusion of the 2023 season.

Radio Le Mans stopped short of saying Audi is definitely going to pull out of F1 before the project has really got going, but the suggestion that they could even decide to make a U-turn has naturally generated a fair few headlines off of the back of it.

“We have said [Audi’s F1 project] is being reviewed with no decision due until after the end of the F1 season,” said Radio Le Mans on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Naturally, Audi have totally denied that it’s wavering over its plans to join the grid: “Audi‘s F1 entry in 2026 is based on a decision of the Board of AUDI AG in alignment with the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG as well as the Board and the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Group,” a statement read.

“The schedule of Audi Formula Racing GmbH for the build-up of the organisation and the development of the 2026 F1 Power Unit at the site in Neuburg/Germany remains unchanged.”

The line from Audi is that the manufacturer is still full steam ahead with planning for 2026, with preparations made to bring an end to other customer racing operations in other championships to help focus on its expanding F1 work.

Indeed, at the weekend, Audi held a Family Festival at their Neuberg facility to bring an update on the F1 side, with board member and chief technical officer Oliver Hoffmann and CEO of Audi Formula Racing Adam Baker also in attendance.

Nevertheless, the rumours have caused a stir inside the paddock and outside of it, with rumblings – though minor at this stage – concerning the story at the Lusail International Circuit over the weekend in Qatar.

Whilst it seems quite unlikely that Audi would now decide to pull out of F1, especially with the investment that it has already put into the programme, it has been described as still something that ‘could’ potentially materialise by some.

The general feeling in the paddock is that it would be a massive surprise, with one Sauber spokesperson describing the rumours over Audi getting cold feet simply as “crap”. Going on to ask why Audi would invest so much already if it was already having doubts about the project.

Of course, those connected to Audi and Sauber are hardly going to sit there and say ‘We’re going to pull out, that’s that,’ and so the lines given are to be expected.

Radio Le Mans maintains that a review of the project will be held at the end of the season, though, and so whilst that stays on the table, there remains even a slight possibility that a dramatic reversal could be pulled out of the blue by Audi.

As for Alfa Romeo and Sauber in the near future, meanwhile, the former is currently on course to leave the sport, whilst the latter could go back to its eponymous name for 2024 – though conversations are ongoing as to just what the team will be called and a full decision is yet to be made.

With the Alfa Romeo name, there have been rumours over whether the Italian brand could end up badging up the Haas cars for 2024, as they have done at Sauber, with the team also sharing close Italian ties with Ferrari.

On that front, though, there has been speculation but nothing more concrete than that.

Valtteri Bottas admits he would be “happy to wait” until Audi’s arrival and the change of regulations in Formula 1 in 2026 to stand on the podium rostrum once more.

The Finn departed Mercedes at the end of 2021 after being involved in five Constructors’ Championship successes to make way for George Russell, ending up at Alfa Romeo on a multi-year agreement.

Whilst his venture with the Sauber-owned team began promisingly last year, Alfa Romeo has regressed rapidly, only accumulating 10 points this season to languish ninth in the standings.

However, Bottas, 34, insists he has plenty of years remaining at the top level, citing Fernando Alonso’s protracted F1 career as motivation that he can continue performing through the latter stages of his own stint.

The Spaniard, 42, continues to excel at the sharp end, scoring seven podiums since his winter switch to Aston Martin to sit third in the Drivers’ Championship at present.

“If you look at Fernando, he’s now a good example of what you can do and still perform,” Bottas told Speedcafe.

“I still have many years. Of course, in this sport you always need to prove yourself with results.

“And that’s also now my motivation, to try and get good results, to maximise everything every weekend and also work hard with the team off the track.”

Expanding further on Alonso’s remarkable career longevity, Bottas added: “He’s perhaps an outlier. It’s not been done many times in this sport that you can still be super competitive at that age.

“Every person is different, every driver is different, but, as I say, he’s maybe a bit of an outlier. But he’s still quite motivating to see that and definitely an example.”

Reflecting back on his own F1 career that began back in 2013, Bottas reveals he is not ready to depart from the sport just yet, despite Alfa Romeo’s ongoing struggles.

The ex-Williams racer believes his race-winning experience makes him a valuable asset, particularly in light of Audi’s impending arrival in 2026.

“I feel like I’m definitely not going down yet,” Bottas declared.

“In this sport, once you get to this stage where you have lots of experience, then that can also be quite attractive for many teams in certain situations.”

The Sauber Group opted to hire ex-McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl last winter as its CEO to oversee the transition from an independent side into a works Audi entry.

Although Bottas has previously outlined that the Hinwil camp isn’t solely waiting for the German marque’s arrival to become competitive, he asserts the changes being made behind the scenes won’t be reflected in the results until years to come.

There have been a few structural changes,” Bottas noted. “It took some time for Andreas to discover what this team really needs, what is going to be the long-term plan, and now he’s starting to put the plan together.

“Obviously, the results of all these changes they are going to be shown, perhaps not next year, but in two, three, four years.”

When asked whether he is a patient individual, Bottas replied: “Yes and no. With certain things, yes.

“Waiting until ’26 to be back on the podium? Yes, I’m happy to wait for that.”

Bottas brought an end to Alfa Romeo’s torrid five-race run without a point last time out at the Italian Grand Prix.

However, the Italian marque remain two points behind Haas, who are a further 11 points adrift of Williams in seventh place.

Nico Hulkenberg has admitted he is hopeful of producing strong enough performances to put him in the frame for a potential Audi seat once it enters Formula 1 in 2026.

Except for a handful of deputy performances for Racing Point/Aston Martin, Hulkenberg returned to F1 this year with Haas after a three-year absence from the sport.

The German has impressed amid a tough campaign for Haas, whose competitiveness has been stymied by a VF-23 car that has struggled with excessive tyre degradation.

Hulkenberg has out-qualified team-mate Kevin Magnussen at 11 of the 14 rounds this year, also out-scoring the Dane by eight points to three as Haas languish eighth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Although it was recently announced that Hulkenberg had penned a one-year extension with Haas, the 36-year-old has opened the door to a potential future Audi switch.

“It’s definitely one of the very attractive projects right now, a new brand coming into Formula 1,” Hulkenberg told the Beyond the Grid podcast.

“A German manufacturer as well, people that I’ve worked with and done really well before. Yeah, it all sounds really good on paper.

“Obviously, I still need to put in the work, keep [producing] convincing drives to maybe have a shot there. But only time will tell.”

The German automotive giant will venture into F1 for the first time in its history in time for the next regulation change in 2026.

Despite underlining that it’s not a priority, Volkswagen’s CEO has previously acknowledged it would be highly interested in securing a German driver.

After the retirement of four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher being let go by Haas at the end of 2022, Hulkenberg is the only active German representative on the grid.

Therefore, Hulkenberg arguably represents the most viable homegrown option if Audi plumps for a German. The current Haas racer is one of the most experienced names in the sport having driven for an array of teams – including the Hinwil side in 2013.

The ex-Renault driver recently dismissed holding the record for the most F1 starts without accruing a podium finish, countering that it was a testament to his longevity.

Valtteri Bottas expects the Sauber-owned Formula 1 team to become “more corporate” once it transitions into a works Audi entry from 2026.

Since departing Mercedes at the end of 2021 to drive for the side currently known as Alfa Romeo, Bottas has enjoyed a renewed lease of life away from the demands of a race track.

The Finn has extensively expanded his interests outside of racing, including co-owning a coffee roastery in his native Finland and launching a gin brand with his girlfriend, Tiffany Cromwell.

Most recently, Bottas, 34, was pictured competing in a cycling race dressed up in a Duffman outfit from The Simpsons TV show during the recent F1 summer break.

Speaking ahead of last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Bottas revealed those diversions have enabled him to approach each F1 round more refreshed than he did previously, which he hopes will prolong his career in the sport.

“For me, when I come to races, I’m always fresh mentally, and I’m always really keen to get back into it,” he said. “So I think yeah, if your life is 24/7 F1, nothing else, then it becomes a bit of a grind.

“But I feel at least for me, it works that once I allow myself to kind of disconnect for some time, and then come back again. I feel like I have more battery reserves. I feel like that’s a more sustainable way of extending your career, that you didn’t really need to learn to disconnect.”

When asked what it was specifically about the Hinwil-based squad that puts him at ease, Bottas contemplated: “I think it’s just obviously when you change the team the whole environment changes, it’s new people, it’s different culture also so from the different country the team is from.

“For sure there’s always extra pressure when you’re fighting for the world titles. No doubt, for sure that makes an effect. Obviously, it’s a smaller team as well than where I was before. There are certain elements like that. But also from my side I’ve grown so much from the past.”

Bottas is under no illusions, however, that the team will immediately become more corporate once Audi increases its involvement ahead of its maiden F1 venture

But the Finn doesn’t view the German marque’s arrival as a problem, providing he is allowed to pursue his hobbies outside of F1 and its presence brings an upturn in results.

“No doubt it will get more corporate with a big brand coming in. But if that brings results, then I don’t mind,” Bottas acknowledged. “Just change a bit of the team culture and the free atmosphere for [the] more competitive part.

“I don’t feel like I need to change myself. I am who I am. And I want to be who I am always. But yeah, of course with let’s say a bigger company some things that I share in social media, I might have to do a second thought on things, you know, but that’s okay.

“As long as I can still have my fun, which I believe is good for me. That’s the main thing.”

Amid the impending arrival of another huge automotive name into F1, there has been plenty of speculation surrounding which drivers Audi will look to attract.

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has been the name most notably linked, with the Spaniard’s future not finalised beyond the end of next season.

Having previously conceded his ambitions remain to stick with the team as it embarks on a new phase, Bottas has addressed that talks about his plans for 2026 won’t take place until next year at the earliest.

“We haven’t still spoken about ’26,” Bottas disclosed. “I think those discussions are probably going to be had next year. So I think naturally, when nothing is confirmed for some years after, there is always speculation, so let’s see. It’s still a bit early for anyone to commit to ’26.”

Bottas’ arrival at Alfa Romeo last year coincided with the Italian marque reversing its fortunes from previous years, scoring 55 points across the first 10 rounds.

However, Alfa Romeo only amassed a further four points in the remaining 12 rounds of 2022 – a run that has continued into 2023, with the side languishing in ninth place in the standings on just nine points.

Nevertheless, Bottas, a 10-time F1 race winner, is hopeful that Audi transforming the team into a manufacturer entry will enable him to compete for victories again in the future.

Questioned on how his mindset has adapted since departing the eight-time Constructors’ Champions Mercedes to scrapping for minor points with Alfa Romeo, Bottas said: “For sure, I had to change many, many goals, which on the other hand, it’s not fun, when you’re not fighting for the wins anymore, like that, this sport is way more fun when you’re performing and when you’re up there. That’s how it goes, you enjoy more.

“But now the goal is longer term. The motivation is to get eventually back up there, podiums, hopefully wins one day. So that’s now the motivation, that’s the drive now, why I want to work with the team and why I went to drive the best I can.

“And so now it’s longer term, almost like trying to see that light at the end of the tunnel. And push for that.”

Pressed on whether he could see that promise developing, he stated: “Absolutely. All the exciting stuff that is happening to this team in the near future.”

There has been much intrigue surrounding Audi’s impending takeover of the Sauber-owned team – but should Alfa Romeo’s 2023 slump serve as a warning of the challenge it faces in reversing a flailing Formula 1 side’s fortunes? 

Alfa Romeo’s uncompetitive display throughout the Belgian Grand Prix weekend ensured it heads into the annual summer shutdown without a single points finish in the previous four rounds – the worst run of any team – to mark a continuation of its struggles from the backend of last year. 

After multiple seasons spent trailing towards the rear of the F1 field, the overhaul to the technical regulations last season enabled Alfa Romeo to enjoy a much-needed renaissance. With the arrival of Valtteri Bottas from the then-defending World Champions Mercedes leading the team’s charge, the Hinwil-based outfit accumulated a total of 55 points inside the opening nine rounds of the year to hold sixth overall.

However, Alfa Romeo has only accrued nine points following the first 12 races of 2023 – a substantial decrease of 46 from this time last year. To further compound its woes, the Italian entity has only racked up a pitiful 13 points across the past 24 grands prix.

But where has Alfa Romeo’s early promise in this rules cycle dissipated to already? 

While the Alfa Romeo C42 was clearly a tidy package with a solid baseline to build from, much of its early success came down to the car being at the optimal weight from the outset. As other teams progressively caught up and whittled away at cutting down their own overweight machines, Alfa Romeo’s competitive advantage at the front of the midfield was reduced at a rapid rate. 

As such, Alfa Romeo went six rounds without scoring a single point from Canada in June until Monza in September, when Zhou Guanyu put an end to the protracted drought with a battling drive to 10th. 

However, that would fail to inspire an upturn in form, with only three further points following courtesy of Bottas recording successive top-10 finishes in Mexico and Brazil. Even accounting for the opportunity of a reset over the winter, Alfa Romeo’s plight has continued into 2023, despite sweeping optimism over the winter that it had made a considerable step forward with its latest car.

The team’s C43 was described by its now-ousted technical director Jan Monchaux as a progressive step forward, with the predominant focus on improving the rear-end instability issues of last year. Regardless of whether its development targets were hit, the stopwatch doesn’t lie, and Alfa Romeo’s technical department ultimately failed to make the same strides as many of its rivals did over the winter, subsequently condemning it to its current occupation of ninth in the teams’ standings.

Alfa Romeo currently only resides above AlphaTauri, who have also struggled hugely to get a grasp on these technical rules over the past 18 months. Meanwhile, Williams appears to have pulled away from those respective sides since introducing a substantial upgrade package that has enabled it to maximise points-scoring opportunities when they’ve arrived.

Speaking of updates, Alfa Romeo introduced its own raft of new parts at the British Grand Prix, with Bottas hopeful that the alterations would provide respite from its wretched run of mid-season form. Although the upgrades proved successful in eliminating part of the C43’s high-speed performance disadvantage, Alfa Romeo’s hopes were hindered by another glaring weakness being exposed.

Unlike fellow Ferrari-powered customer Haas, Alfa Romeo’s attempts to score points have consistently been rebuffed by encountering below-par qualifying displays. The top brass involved within Alfa Romeo’s F1 operation has consistently stressed the need to optimise grid position, with Bottas suspecting points were possible at Silverstone if he’d qualified further up.

One round later, however, and both Bottas and Zhou progressed through to Q3 for the first time in 2023. The twisting, slower-speed nature of the Hungaroring played more favourably into the strengths of Alfa Romeo’s package and a sterling effort from both drivers delivered starting berths of fifth and seventh for Sunday’s race in Budapest.

But within the first lap, Alfa Romeo’s hopes of achieving a vital haul of points were dashed. Zhou, enthused after qualifying a career-best fifth, suffered a clutch problem before a braking misjudgement at Turn 1 caused a collision that compromised Daniel Ricciardo’s race and took both Alpines out.

Unsurprisingly, Zhou was swiftly hit with a five-second time penalty that dropped him out of contention, with Bottas unable to recover from a sluggish start to the race.

During what has transpired to be an arduous and morale-sapping year for the entire Alfa Romeo team, spurning a golden opportunity to collect points on the sole weekend where its car has displayed genuine promise would have been a gut-wrenching pill to swallow. Possibly one that could spell an end to its chances of propelling itself up the standings before the season draws to a close.

The underlying performance of the car underneath Bottas and Zhou has been deemed the attributing factor for their unspectacular run of results, but neither driver has covered themselves in glory by stringing together a consistent run of form.

The farcical unfolding of their respective races in Hungary should warrant question marks over whether both drivers have regularly extracted everything from the machinery at their disposal, even accounting for the evident performance shortcomings.

With McLaren’s introduction of a revised car elevating it into podium-scoring contention, there is now an order of five hugely competitive teams that occupy the points-scoring places. With only the top 10 being eligible for points in a grand prix, it’s even more pivotal that stragglers like Alfa Romeo deliver a faultless weekend in every aspect when circumstances align for a result.  

But while Williams with Alex Albon at the wheel continues to illustrate how that is perfected under the stewardship of ex-Mercedes Strategy Director James Vowles, Alfa Romeo is one team quickly being left behind by the rest’s unrelenting progress.

Although Zhou has certainly done solidly enough to remove the ‘pay driver’ tag that courted his every move upon his arrival into F1, the Chinese driver doesn’t hold a place alongside the other exciting young drivers on the grid that have made the step-up recently like McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

Meanwhile, Bottas, a 10-time race winner during his stint with Mercedes, was expected to assert a more commanding dominance within the intra-team dynamic, but the Finn appears a shadow of the exciting talent that burst onto the scene with Williams and subsequently earned the right to be Nico Rosberg’s replacement at Mercedes.

Bottas has publicly revealed he wants to stay in time for Audi’s arrival – however, he will undoubtedly need to raise his game beyond his current level to ensure he remains part of the company’s long-term thinking.

It’s hard to imagine that Audi won’t be targeting a top-line driver and such a household name in the automotive industry will demand a queue of drivers wanting to spearhead its F1 project. Among them, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has been the most notable individual linked due to his ties with Andreas Seidl from their time at McLaren.

The Sauber-ran outfit has shown it is not afraid to ring the changes before the Audi moniker is plastered above the garage doors. Seidl was brought in exclusively over the winter as the Sauber Group’s CEO to oversee the side’s transition into an official works Audi entry under three years from now.

Monchaux has already been handed his marching orders and replaced by James Key, who himself was axed from his Technical Director role at McLaren earlier this year.

Understandably, Audi’s maiden venture into F1 has generated lots of publicity. The German giants have already proceeded to set out the stool for what it aims to achieve upon its arrival into the sport: to be competitive within three seasons.

While simply being competitive is a vague use of terminology and it’s very on-brand for an F1 entry to set out a timeline that doesn’t bare much substance – take Alpine’s ever-evolving 100-race barometer as a prime example – Audi’s declaration should be taken somewhat seriously. 

The German manufacturer has always succeeded in whatever series it has set its sights on. Failure is not an option for Audi, and it will persist with its F1 programme until it develops into an established front-runner capable of challenging the might of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull on a regular basis.

However, as Bottas expressed recently, the Sauber-ran side can’t simply afford to bide its time until Audi invests the resources required to overturn its latest demise. For the time being, Alfa Romeo’s immediate focus should be on arresting the slide that has taken it from a regular points-scoring team in this rules set to one that is reluctantly propping up at the rear of the pack within a year.

There are big changes coming at Audi Sport for next year for the German manufacturer’s customer racing programme, according to a letter, seen by Dailysportscar and Endurance-Info, sent by Audi to its partner teams.

The Audi customer racing programme, encompassing GT2, GT3, GT4 and TCR, supplies somewhere in the region of 600 cars to its partner teams across the aforementioned ‘pillars’.

The letter was signed by Chris Reinke, head of customer racing at Audi Sport, and Rolf Michl, Audi Sport’s managing director. In it, the two confirm that sales of cars will end after Q1 2024, but all orders placed until then will be fulfilled — but that Audi’s ‘strategic operations’ will end from 2024 onwards, as well as the co-operation between Audi Sport and its customer teams, who were previously supported with factory drivers.

In addition, the homologation for all current customer racing models — in GT2, GT3, GT4 and TCR — will be extended for at least one further cycle, and teams will still receive customer advice from Audi Sport advisors, as well as a full spare parts service.

Finally, the letter stated Audi Sport is examining motorsport-related follow-up projects to replace the customer racing programme.

This shift in priorities from Audi comes as the Volkswagen Group-owned company is undergoing a radical shift, aiming to electrify its full range of road cars by 2030, in a project known as Vorsprung 2030. The company is also entering Formula 1 as a full factory team in 2026, having bought the long-running Sauber operation earlier this year.

It marks the end of an era in GT and touring car racing, with Audi’s GT3 customer programme going back to 2009 with the original R8 LMS. Now in its third iteration, the R8 LMS Evo II, it has won almost everything there is to win in the GT racing world, and has spawned two siblings, the GT2 and GT4 cars.

The end of the customer racing programme may affect teams which race in the DTM series, including Abt Sportsline, Engstler Motorsport, and Tresor Attempto Racing, all of whom may need to find a new manufacturer partner. Many of Audi’s factory-supported drivers have also left in the last year, including Robin Frijns, Kelvin van der Linde, Rene Rast, Dries Vanthoor, and Charles Weerts.

Valtteri Bottas believes there is still room for improvement at Sauber as the team prepares to become Audi’s factory Formula 1 team in 2026.

Audi acquired a minority stake in the Sauber team in January, before entering the sport in 2026 with the Swiss group as a ‘strategic partner’.

Currently branded as Alfa Romeo, Bottas believes there is room for improvement for Sauber before it morphs into Audi.

There have been several high-profile signings at Sauber with former McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl appointed as the group’s CEO in December.

More recently, Seidl’s former McLaren colleague James Key was recruited to lead the team’s technical department.

“James is obviously very, very welcome to the team,” said Bottas. “He’s got lots of experience from different teams before being in different situations.

“I think he’s going to be a good addition for us, and looking forward to starting to work with him.”

The personnel signings are just a part of the building phase that the team must endure before becoming Audi’s factory F1 team.

But there are still plenty of other areas for Sauber to improve according to Bottas.

“The basic things are there,” the Finn continued. “There’s always room for improvements; you could always get the latest machinery for every single department.

“I think there’s still work going on seeing where to invest, when to invest, because there’s a clear long-term plan.

“In the end, it’s also about human power. We’re getting there, step by step, but it is a project.”

Bottas left Mercedes at the end of 2021 to make way for rising star George Russell. Since, he has headed Alfa Romeo’s driver line-up and is understood to be contracted until the end of 2024.

The 10-time Grand Prix winner has been a stabilising force within the team since, although whether he is part of Seidl’s and Audi’s plans beyond 2024 is yet to be known.

Audi has recruited former Red Bull tester and sportscar veteran Neel Jani to become its simulator driver for powertrain development.

Audi will enter Formula 1 in 2026 when it becomes the strategic partner of Sauber Motorsport under new power unit regulations.

The company hopes to have a mule car in action in 2025 and is striving to have a prototype power unit running on its dyno by the end of 2023.

Jani was affiliated with Red Bull’s Formula 1 team in the late 2000s, winning races in the GP2 Series and A1GP, before embarking on a lengthy and successful career in sportscars.

Jani was part of the Le Mans-winning entry for Porsche in 2016 and also competed for the manufacturer in Formula E.

“I am delighted to accompany Audi on their way into Formula 1,” said Jani, 39.

“It is both an honour and a great responsibility to be involved in a project of this magnitude at an early stage.

“I am sure that with my experience from Formula 1 and LMP projects I can forge good links between theory and practice.”

Audi will be one of six power unit manufacturers when revised regulations are introduced, along with Red Bull Powertrains-Ford, Mercedes, Ferrari, Alpine and Honda.

“Just like in production development, simulation plays a major role in our Formula 1 project. Our simulator is an important tool for the power unit development,” said Audi chief Oliver Hoffmann.

“It requires a development driver who in addition to a grasp of technology brings versatile experience to the project, especially in terms of energy management in racing conditions.”

Since announcing its entrance to Formula 1, speculation remains over who will drive for Audi in 2026.

Audi has already confirmed that it will enter the sport in 2026 as both an engine manufacturer and a works outfit courtesy of a strategic collaboration with Sauber in time for the new regulation cycle.

Recently, Swiss outlet Blick reported that Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz had been pinpointed as Audi’s top target for the project. Sainz later dismissed these links as “uncorroborated and invented rumours”.

But now, compatriot Fernando Alonso is in the spotlight amid links to a drive for the German marque following comments made by the Sauber Group’s managing director Alunni Bravi.

“I would always sign Fernando, even at 45 years or more,” Bravi told the Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

“I was able to get to know him well at McLaren, when I was the manager of Stoffel Vandoorne, who was his team-mate. I was able to see first-hand the work he can do on a day-to-day basis as a driver, his ability, his great determination.

“He is a champion. You don’t win two F1 World titles if you don’t have certain characteristics. It’s a pleasure for me to see him.”

Bravi made clear that under the teams current guise of Alfa Romeo, he is “happy with out drivers” but admitted he “cannot hide that Fernando is one of the top drivers in F1 and that has to be recognised.”

It may be difficult for Sauber to pry Alonso away from Aston Martin following the Spaniard’s success with the British marque so far in his maiden season with the team.

Alonso has finished on the podium in five of the opening seven races in 2023, and has already expressed his desire to continue with the team for several years to come.

Alfa Romeo currently has a strong pairing in Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou with Formula 2 driver Theo Pourchaire awaiting a callup to the top tier.

Despite Sainz dismissing the rumours linking him to a 2026 drive for Audi, Bravi was still questioned on the possibility of bringing Sainz into the fold once his Ferrari contract expires at the end of the 2024 season.

“We are satisfied with our current driver pairing and our aim is to give them competitive material,” Bravi said.

“Obviously I think Carlos Sainz is one of the best drivers currently in F1. He drives for Ferrari and I think he is happy at Ferrari. And we have to think about our drivers and give them all the tools to do a good job.”

Carlos Sainz has dismissed recent speculation linking him with an audacious switch to lead Audi’s future Formula 1 venture. 

Audi is scheduled to arrive in F1 for the first time in its history in 2026 as part of a strategic collaboration with the Sauber team that will also see the German marque develop its own engine.

Swiss media outlet Blick reported earlier this week that reports in the Spanish press were gathering momentum linking Sainz with a move away from Ferrari to join the Audi project.  

However, Sainz, who has a deal to the end of 2024, has categorically denied the rumours, insisting his desire is to remain with Ferrari into the future.

“It surprises me a lot, hearing things about 2026 when I don’t even have a contract for 2025,” the 28-year-old told Spanish newspaper Marca.

“It surprises me that people invent things so much. In some ways, it makes me laugh. In other ways, it annoys me that there are these uncorroborated rumours. 

“Nobody will ever go to that journalist (that started the rumour) and verify it.

“Because the aim is to stay at Ferrari for many years, I am very comfortable here, I’m living a dream, and this is my objective.”

With Ferrari’s evolutionary SF-23 car failing to build on the promise of last season, Sainz has endured an unspectacular start to his third season in red.

Despite outscoring his team-mate across the opening three races, Charles Leclerc’s advances have been hamstrung by reliability woes and subsequent grid penalties. 

Sainz has been particularly unsatisfied with his performance over a single lap in 2023, with the ex-McLaren driver’s best qualifying position only being fourth place in the opening round.

Having recovered to the front of the field by the time a late red flag was flown at the last race in Australia, Sainz threw away a fourth-place finish when he tagged Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin round at Turn 1 on the restart, resulting in a five-second penalty that dropped him out of the points.

With Charles Leclerc already out of the running on the opening lap and Ferrari unsuccessful in overturning Sainz’s penalty, the Scuderia languish in fourth in the Constructors’ standings.

Both Leclerc and Sainz retain contracts with Ferrari to the end of the 2024 season, meaning next year could spell widespread speculation ahead of a crunch period for their respective futures.

Meanwhile, the Sauber-owned team, ran under the guise of Alfa Romeo and set to transform into Audi come 2026, has sustained an indifferent beginning to the latest campaign. 

While Valtteri Bottas was classified as an impressive eighth in Bahrain, the Finn has spent the last two races lagging behind at the back, mysteriously off the pace.

His team-mate Zhou Guanyu, on the other hand, has endured a much smoother time and was able to profit from the ensuing late carnage at Albert Park to notch his first points of the year.

The Hinwil-based outfit currently lies eighth in the Championship on six points, with Audi’s top brass previously underlining it expects to be competitive within three seasons of its arrival.