After the ousting of Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann at Sauber/Audi, will there be further personnel decisions at the top level of the Formula 1 team?
No sooner has Audi made its latest personnel decision in the Formula 1 team public and ousted team boss Andreas Seidl and project manager Oliver Hoffmann than speculation is already rife: More senior executives could soon have to leave the racing team from Hinwil in Switzerland.
In its report, Blick refers specifically to the current Technical Director at Sauber, James Key, who was once “Seidl’s favorite” when he moved with him from McLaren to Sauber. In addition, team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi is about to be replaced, and a possible successor is already emerging: current Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack could soon move to Sauber.
Formula 1 expert Ralf Schumacher, however, warns Audi against too many interventions and says on Sky: “You just have to be aware that constant personnel changes at management level are not a good thing in Formula 1.”
Even the current change of Seidl and Hoffmann, who are being replaced by former Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, is a “very big bang”, explains the six-time Grand Prix winner.
Schumacher attributes the new situation to internal “tensions” between Hoffmann and Seidl and says that “this fight also led to the decision being made. This is also very surprising for Andreas Seidl, I’m very sure of that.”
However, he considers the change to be “very interesting” and is “looking forward” to further developments in Hinwil. “Audi has at least managed to get an experienced man in Mattia Binotto – which is important. He can certainly do a good job. But this is also a huge task for him,” says Schumacher.
Were Seidl’s hands tied at Sauber?
However, he also asks for understanding for Seidl and his previous work in Hinwil. The German had “fought with blunt weapons” because the development of the Audi works team had not been pursued as consistently as had perhaps been hoped.
Schumacher: “The project was actually on the brink of collapse at Audi because there was apparently a small miscalculation that amounted to a billion. At least that’s what we hear. This called into question what was happening. The team had to be refinanced because no money was flowing in.”
For this reason, the team held on to Guanyu Zhou as a driver for the 2024 Formula 1 season and took his sponsorship money with them, says Schumacher.
In this starting position, “nothing could happen” in terms of further development within the team. “We couldn’t take on any people or offer any prospects. Then they just let the whole thing go as it was before,” says Schumacher.
Postscript: “Despite all the sympathy I have for the team, a lot has to change at Sauber.” Whether through further personnel decisions remains to be seen
New engine boss at Audi
According to Motorsport.com Italy, a sister platform of Formel1.de – engine department found: Italian Walter Citterio had already joined Audi months ago as head of development for the V6 combustion engine and is to take over management of the powertrain project in the new team structure under Binotto.
Like Binotto, Citterio has a lot of Formula 1 and Ferrari experience: before joining Audi, Citterio worked for the traditional Italian team for 14 years, most recently as Head of Powertrain Concept