Valtteri Bottas shares ‘what I’ve heard’ about Audi ‘behind the scenes’ at Sauber

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Valtteri Bottas has now revealed ‘what I’ve heard’ about Audi ‘behind the scenes’ at Sauber with Stake F1 Team due to be the automotive giant’s works entry from 2026.

The German brand took a stake in Sauber last January with the intention of turning the team into its factory outfit. But rumours surfaced late in 2023 regarding Audi’s commitment to the Hinwil, Switzerland squad. It was feared the manufacturer could pull the plug on the project.

Audi originally reached an agreement to take over Sauber in late 2022 with Formula 1’s next set of technical regulations in 2026 the goal for its entry. But the Bavaria-based subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group has rarely made noise about its plans since sealing the arrangement.

Sauber are due to become Audi’s factory F1 team in 2026

Sauber managing director Alessandro Alunni Bravi responded to the rumours last November that Audi still has a ‘strong commitment’ to F1. Instead, the German brand’s silence was just down to Sauber still operating as Alfa Romeo for sponsorship reasons until the end of 2023.

The Swiss team have now rebranded as Stake F1 Team for the 2024 and 2025 seasons with Sauber becoming Audi in 2026. Bottas and Zhou Guanyu also helped Sauber to launch their first car as Stake F1 Team on Monday. The team have adopted a ‘brave’ design with the C44.

Valtteri Bottas believes Audi remains ‘fully committed’ to F1

Bottas also has his eyes on Audi’s entry to F1 with the 34-year-old out of contract for Sauber after 2024. He joined the Swiss team from Mercedes in 2022 as a 10-time Grand Prix winner. But Alfa Romeo dropped from sixth in the 2022 constructors’ standings to just ninth in 2023.

The Finn scored 10 of Sauber’s mere 16 points in their final year running as Alfa Romeo. But Bottas believes Audi remains ‘fully committed’ to taking over Sauber in 2026 and joining F1. He also expects the German giants to start stamping their mark in Hinwil in the near future.

“I think it’s just rumours from what I understand and what I’ve heard,” he said, via quotes by RacingNews365. “They’re still fully committed for the future.

“I think the cooperation will start sometime soon. I would imagine if Audi already wants to be competitive in their first year. Sauber and Audi will need to work together, but that’s all going on behind the scenes.

“As a driver, whatever meetings or stuff is happening behind the scenes, we are not always aware of those things. But things are starting to pick up now.”