Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff trusts Audi to succeed immediately in their 2026 Formula One entry and is apparently counting on a partnership with the Sauber team
Even though Audi has not yet officially announced with which team they will enter Formula 1 in 2026: The sparrows have been whistling from the rooftops for months that Sauber will be the envisaged chassis partner
Should this Swiss-German cooperation actually come about, Toto Wolff reckons he will have one more serious opponent in the future: “I would never underestimate the VW Group,” says the Mercedes team boss.
It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about Audi or Porsche: Volkswagen should always be taken seriously as a player in motorsport, Wolff believes. He emphasises: “They are absolutely on my radar. They are one of the teams that could be successful in 2026. “
Volkswagen and therefore Audi have “the financial strength, the know-how and the motorsport expertise to set up a great project, and I think the marriage with Sauber is one that fits”. Also because Hinwil is “in the German-speaking part of Switzerland” and the legal frameworks in Switzerland and Germany are similar, according to Wolff.
Audi announced at the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August that it would enter Formula 1 in 2026, but did not reveal any details as to which team and in which constellation the entry would be made.
The group’s sister company Porsche had been seeking a cooperation with Red Bull for months before that. However, the negotiations failed at the last metre of the marathon.
