Why Audi Won’t Mind Sauber’s Catastrophic Decline Right Before Takeover

The Sauber F1 team is currently facing a massive slump as they are the only team on the grid who have failed to score a single point after 12 races. Despite the same, German automaker Audi will not mind completing their takeover of Sauber in 2026.

The key reason for the same is the additional wind tunnel time that Audi could get for their debut season in 2026. If Sauber were to finish last in the standings even next year, Audi will get the highest wind tunnel time in 2026.

As per the F1 rules, the team finishing at the top of the standings at the end of a campaign gets the least wind tunnel time for the upcoming season and vice versa. As a result, Red Bull got the least wind tunnel time heading into 2024 because they won the championship last year.

AUDI #F1 HIRE

Sauber/Audi has appointed a Programme Director – Stefan Strähnz, an F1 veteran of over two decades and a Mercedes man since 2012.Strähnz will report to Andreas Seidl.

His arrival comes as Sauber “dramatically ramps up its growth in the run-up to Audi’s entry”. pic.twitter.com/58EhlnfV3P

— The Race (@wearetherace) July 12, 2024

Similarly, Haas got the highest wind tunnel time after finishing last in 2023. Considering the way Haas are performing much better this year compared to last year with additional wind tunnel time, it is no secret that this would be a massive benefit for a new entrant like Audi in 2026.

Why did Audi decide to take over Sauber?

The most likely reason why Audi perhaps decided to take over Sauber is that the Swiss-based outfit are currently going through a slump. Hence, Audi must have received a good deal to take over Sauber.

Meanwhile, another key reason why Sar was perhaps the best outfit to take over for any team is that the Hinwil-based side has a state-of-the-art wind tunnel. Audi themselves has rented the same for many of their projects such as the World Endurance Championship programme, and hence, know all about it.

Moreover, with Audi having announced that they would be taking over Sauber a few years before the new regulations kick in 2026, they can also carefully plan for the future. One of the first areas that they seemed to have targeted to plan for the future is their driver line-up.

With Sauber having confirmed Nico Hulkenberg for 2025, the German is also likely to lead Audi in 2026. However, Sauber do not plan to stop there.

Reports have suggested that the team are also considering signing Carlos Sainz. If Sauber can pull this through, it would be a massive boost for them as the Spaniard is one of the top drivers on the current grid.