Audi is on the verge of promoting a shareholding in its Method 1 Sauber workforce to Qatar – with an announcement probably coming forward of the Qatar Grand Prix.
Regardless of repeated denials, the primary hypothesis a few potential deal was revealed by veteran F1 journalist Joe Saward, whereas Motorsport.com sources have urged, nonetheless, that the deal may undergo as early as subsequent week. There may be additionally mentioned to be the potential for an funding that’s a lot bigger than initially anticipated.
It was solely again in March this 12 months after the beginning of the F1 season that Audi introduced it might be shopping for 100% of the Sauber workforce from former proprietor Finn Rausing. This was for an estimated buy worth of round €650 million.
However the state of affairs for the German producer seems to have modified in latest weeks with Volkswagen AG, which additionally owns the Audi model, within the throes of an financial disaster.
In Germany, there may be discuss of plant closures and the lack of as much as 30,000 jobs. A disaster that can also be leaving its mark on the Audi model, which is going through related challenges on the world market.
Audi and business insiders are saying privately that it’s presently very troublesome to justify the expenditure of a large-scale F1 growth programme with the group, which is critical if the corporate needs to be aggressive within the medium-to-long-term from 2026.
Audi has up to now stored a low profile on the rumours of the Emirate of Qatar coming into the fray. The official line could be very clear: “As a matter of precept, we don’t touch upon hypothesis.”
Audi CEO Gernot Dollner and Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Staff KICK Sauber
Picture by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Pictures
When requested, the corporate merely referred to a press release made by CEO Gernot Dollner on the Italian Grand Prix.
There, Dollner mentioned that now’s “the suitable time” for Audi to enter F1: “The choice was nicely ready two-and-a-half years in the past and re-evaluated final 12 months. We firmly consider that F1 and Audi are an ideal match. It is consistent with our technique, and whereas it is formidable and can take time, it is also completely aligned with the way in which we’re reinventing ourselves on the company facet.”
However one factor can also be clear: the timing is troublesome to argue inside the group that Audi could possibly make investments much less cash given the disaster surrounding Volkswagen AG.
Contemporary capital from Qatar would subsequently be welcome, serving to to push forward with the event of the F1 workforce with out the cash having to go away Ingolstadt.
In line with reviews, the Qataris have indicated that they’re prepared to spend as much as €1 billion on the mission if the circumstances are proper.
Qatar can be a logical investor for Audi in any case as a result of the state-owned airline Qatar Airways is already a key sponsor of F1, and Qatar has been displaying an curiosity within the championship as a worldwide platform for years.
Qatar can also be already invested in Volkswagen AG with a 17% stake within the group. Qatar is the third-largest shareholder of the Volkswagen Group, after Porsche (53.3%) and the state of Decrease Saxony (20%) by way of Qatar Holding LLC.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG
Picture by: Erik Junius
If Volkswagen AG finally advantages from an funding within the Audi F1 workforce, Qatar would additionally not directly take part as one of many shareholders.
Qatar additionally occupies two of the 20 seats on the Volkswagen AG supervisory board, held by Dr Hessa Sultan Al Jaber, former Minister for Data and Communication Know-how, and Mansoor Bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO of the Qatar Funding Authority.
By the way, the chairman of the supervisory board is Hans Dieter Potsch, and one other member is the Prime Minister of Decrease Saxony Stephan Weil.
Although talks are already at a sophisticated stage, there may be presently no clear data on precisely how Qatar intends to affix Audi’s F1 programme.
There are ideas it may very well be a minority funding with out vital adjustments to the workforce’s public picture.
However the funding may be bigger, with an adjustment to the workforce title, which might then embody Qatar or an organization from Qatar alongside Audi. That will in all probability be the case if Qatar was to take over greater than 50% of the shares in Sauber AG and in addition purchase the engine plant in Neuburg.
In any case, the thought of bringing a brand new investor on board with Qatar was not a part of the imaginative and prescient for the Audi F1 programme from the outset, however has been born out of an financial disaster.
Audi and BP emblem
Picture by: Audi
And it’s presumably additionally because of the truth that the 2 key figures who have been largely answerable for initiating the F1 entry are now not with Audi.
One in every of them was Markus Duesmann, who was thought of an ardent supporter of F1, was dismissed as Audi CEO in the summertime of 2023. The opposite was Oliver Hoffmann, who initially oversaw the F1 entry as Audi’s board member for analysis and growth, but in addition left in July 2024.
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Duesmann’s successor Gernot Dollner later dedicated to F1 in precept, after an analysis section lasting a number of months.
Nevertheless, he’s mentioned to be much less prepared to compromise in terms of subordinating different divisions to assist success in F1 and make main investments.
If it involves a sale of shares, this is able to not be a brand new mannequin in F1, given Mercedes is barely one-third owned by the Mercedes group, with the opposite two-thirds managed by Toto Wolff and the chemical group INEOS.
