£470m F1 team was ‘on the brink of collapse’ after making ‘calculation error’

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The Formula 1 grid has been stable for a while now. The field has comprised the same 10 teams since the start of 2017.

Some of those teams have gone through periods of change. Force India became Racing Point and then Aston Martin, while Red Bull junior team RB has raced under multiple names.

Renault became Alpine – a subsidiary of the same brand – in 2021, and Sauber are now known as Stake F1 Team after a spell as Alfa Romeo. But crucially, there has been little threat of any of these teams losing their spot.

This is a marker of a healthier situation in the sport after the upheaval at the start of the previous decade. Team Lotus, Hispania and Virgin all entered F1 in 2010 but seemed to exist in a state of precarity.

Hispania fell off the grid at the end of 2012, while Lotus (then Caterham) and Virgin (Marussia) both entered administration in 2014. The latter managed to survive, but it could only hang on until 2016.

Where in the past teams occasionally had to resort to ‘pay drivers’ to ensure they could go racing, the vast majority of the 2024 pack are there on merit. Even those who do bring financial incentives have tended to demonstrate that they’re worthy of their place.

Ralf Schumacher says Audi had to retain Zhou Guanyu to avoid ruin

In one of the most significant developments in recent F1 history, Audi will join the grid in 2026 as they take full control of Sauber. The German manufacturer arrive with enormous ambition.

Indeed, Audi aim to be competing for titles by 2031, just five years after they turn their first wheel. But, according to Sky Germany’s Ralf Schumacher, the project nearly fell apart before it truly began.

A ‘small calculation error’ had massive repercussions, with the team unable to ‘hire any people’. They had little choice but to retain Zhou Guanyu alongside Valtteri Bottas.

Zhou can apparently offer £27m through his Chinese backers, and that was the kind of money needed to keep the operation afloat. Sauber are the only team who have yet to score a point this year, and that may be because Audi have had to ‘let the whole thing run as it was before’ rather than investing as planned.

“The project at Audi was actually on the brink of collapse because there was apparently a small calculation error amounting to 1 billion,” Schumacher said. “At least that’s what we hear.

“This called into question what was happening. The team had to be refinanced because no money was coming in. That’s why the decision was made to keep Zhou Guanyu as a driver and take the money.

“Accordingly, nothing could happen. They couldn’t hire any people and couldn’t offer any prospects. So they just let the whole thing run as it was before. With all the sympathy I have for the team, a lot of things have to change in the paddock at Sauber.”

Mattia Binotto could pursue A-list driver for Audi

Schumacher’s revelations come in the wake of a bombshell announcement from Audi this week. Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffman lost their roles as leaders of the £470m project (Motorsport Magazine).

They’ve been replaced by the former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto. One of his key tasks will be to sign a teammate for Nico Hulkenberg, confirmed as their first driver in April.

Binotto may hope to revive Audi’s move for Carlos Sainz ahead of his Ferrari exit. The three-time race-winner has previously expressed little interest in the idea, but he may be amenable to reuniting with his old boss.

If not, the team could potentially turn to a youngster. Liam Lawson has been negotiating with Audi in case he’s denied a seat at either RB or Red Bull.