Audi announce former Ferrari chief Binotto as new F1 boss as Seidl departs

Audi have announced former Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto is returning to Grand Prix racing as the new leader of their Formula 1 project.

Earlier this year German car maker Audi took full ownership of the Sauber team, which will be run under the Audi banner from 2026, with an all-new power unit currently being developed in-house in Germany.

READ MORE > ANALYSIS: Why Audi have turned to former Ferrari man Binotto to lead their F1 charge

Binotto, 54, will assume leadership of the operation on August 1, as Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer based at the Sauber factory in Hinwil, Switzerland, and will report directly to the board of directors.

As part of the restructure, former McLaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl – who joined Sauber in January 2023 and was CEO of the Audi team – is leaving, along with Audi executive Oliver Hoffmann, who was overseeing the project.

Binotto was Chief Technical Officer at Ferrari until being promoted to Team Principal in 2019. He left Maranello in 2022 after three years in the job, and having been with the Scuderia since the mid-1990s.

“I am delighted that we have been able to recruit Mattia Binotto for our ambitious Formula 1 project,“ said Audi CEO Gernot Dollner.

“With his extensive experience of more than 25 years in Formula 1, he will undoubtedly be able to make a decisive contribution for Audi.“

READ MORE: ‘So far, we have achieved all the targets’ – Audi provide update on 2026 power unit development

Explaining the restructure, Dollner added: “Our aim is to bring the entire Formula 1 project up to F1 speed by means of clear management structures, defined responsibilities, reduced interfaces, and efficient decision-making processes. For this purpose, the team must be able to act independently and quickly.

“I would like to thank Oliver and Andreas for their important work in establishing our entry into Formula 1 and their commitment in preparing it,“ he said.

The first driver confirmed to be part of Audi’s new F1 project is Nico Hulkenberg, who will make the switch to Kick Sauber from Haas at the end of the season in what the German described as an “interesting” and “very exciting” move.

“It’s really a white piece of paper [for the 2026 regulation changes], and on one side I think that’s good,” said Hulkenberg, whose team mate for 2025 and beyond has yet to be confirmed by the operation.

READ MORE: Hulkenberg ‘very excited’ by Audi project as he sees opportunity for manufacturer to be competitive ‘straight away’

“It’s not a new team but it’s going to be labelled a new team because probably all the know-how and advantage that current teams have, it’s wiped away a little bit, and it’s more a level playing field, [or] starting playing field for everyone.

“I think that offers a good opportunity to be competitive straight away, but expectations are always to be successful as quickly as possible.”

Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas and Chinese racer Zhou Guanyu have represented the Hinwil team since 2022, but the futures of both drivers are unknown beyond the end of the current campaign.