Former Ferrari F1 Head to Manage Audi Team

Audi has put an end to the guessing game as to who will be in charge of its next Formula One program.

On Tuesday, Audi announced that it has hired Mattia Binotto for its F1 project. Binotto will serve as chief operating officer (COO) and chief technical officer (CTO) in the leadership of Sauber Motorsport AG, the new team that will race as Audi.

Binotto resigned as team principal of the Ferrari F1 team in 2022. Binotto has been with the Italian automaker for 28 years, initially joining in 1995 as a powertrain engineer. He eventually became head of the Italian automaker's F1 team and motorsports division in 2019.

Binotto's announcement also came alongside a reorganization of Audi F1 management that will see both Oliver Hoffmann and Andreas Seidl leave the project entirely.

Seidl, who moved from McLaren to Sauber in 2023, was to become CEO of the new Audi team. Audi said in March that he would be “the face of the future Audi F1 team.”

Also in March, Audi announced that it would acquire a 100% stake in the Sauber F1 team as part of its preparations to enter F1 in 2026. At that time, Audi announced that technical boss Hoffmann would become chairman of Sauber's board of directors. Hoffmann previously headed Audi Sport, overseeing the DTM and Formula E programs. Hoffmann, who will lead Sauber's board of directors, will also join the board of Audi's Formula Racing GmbH, which oversees aspects of Audi's F1 power unit development and programs outside of daily operations.

Instead, Gernot Dellner, who will become CEO of Audi and Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2023, will serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sauber Motorsports AG.

Audi has already signed its first driver; in April, Audi announced that Nico Hulkenberg would be on the grid for the Audi F1 team in 2026.