Mattia Binotto set to question ‘outstanding’ director’s position at Audi amid Sauber struggles

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Mattia Binotto is back in the world of Formula 1 after leaving the role of team principal at Ferrari at the end of the 2022 season.

In his four years in charge of the Scuderia, Mattia Binotto oversaw two 2^nd-place finishes in the Constructors’ Championship but couldn’t deliver the coveted championship that Ferrari desires.

Unless Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz pull off a miracle after the summer break, Ferrari’s wait for a title will be extended to 16 years, but Binotto has a very different challenge on his hands now.

The Italian’s official title at Audi is Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer which means he won’t be in charge of the day-to-day running of the F1 team when they arrive on the grid in 2026.

That job will fall to Jonathan Wheatley who has left Red Bull Racing to take up his first team principal role.

However, Binotto and Wheatley are arriving at a team that has a huge amount of work to do over the next 18 months and unfortunately, they’re starting from a very low level.

Sauber have yet to score a point this season and it’s hard to point the finger at drivers Zhou Guanyu and 10-time race winner Valtteri Bottas, who have had to endure horrendous pit stops and incredibly ineffective update packages.

A report from Formu1a.uno has shared that Binotto is already reviewing what needs to be done at Sauber to try and improve their immediate performances.

Sauber’s on-track performance simply hasn’t been good enough and while they were holding their own in the midfield at the opening races, they’ve not developed at the same rate as their rivals.

It’s now a surprise when either driver gets out of Q1 and technical director James Key has to take some responsibility for the team’s underperformance.

Key arrived at Alfa Romeo in September last year to replace Jan Monchaux and saw the team only finish above Haas in the Constructors’ Championship.

This year, things have got even worse and Binotto may soon be questioning Key’s position as they’ve watched all of their rivals accelerate away from them.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Sauber and Audi F1 chief Mattia Binotto

James Key could be questioned by new Audi boss Mattia Binotto

The report from Formu1a.uno states that Binotto will be studying Sauber’s technical team ahead of work moving towards Audi’s first F1 car.

It means that Key’s position could be the first of the ‘important’ roles within the outfit to be questioned by Binotto as he reviews what’s going wrong at Sauber.

Key described Sauber’s design choices with the 2024 car as brave, however, whatever risks they’ve taken have failed to pay off.

Audi’s previous head of their F1 project Andreas Seidl was very excited about Key’s arrival and said, via F1: “I am delighted to welcome James back home to Hinwil as he joins us to shape the future of this team.

“James’ appointment is a crucial step on this journey: he has an outstanding amount of experience in the sport, not just as Technical Director, but also in various other roles within the technical organisation of a team.

“He will lead the transformation process of the technical side of the team, giving us the tools and direction we need to tackle the future.”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber from team principal to Audi future

Sauber have more immediate issues to fix before Audi’s arrival

Bottas and Zhou will know not to expect immediate improvements at the Dutch Grand Prix given the summer break limits how much work teams can do behind the scenes.

However, they both have the added incentive of trying to earn a place on the grid in 2025.

Bottas is expected to be retained by Audi to partner Nico Hulkenberg next year at this stage although no deal is close at the moment.

His teammate Zhou believes his chances of staying in F1 are getting better but whether he believes that’s ahead of Bottas or at Alpine is another matter.

The trouble is that Sauber will struggle to attract a top driver while their car is underperforming to such an extent compared to the rest of the field.

That means the finger could end up being pointed at Key if things don’t improve quickly enough for Binotto’s liking.