Gunther Steiner on what’s happening with the Audi project

Former Haas F1 boss Günter Steiner is concerned about conflicting information about what is happening in the Audi team’s project.

Gunther Steiner: “I am concerned about Carlos Sainz’s refusal to sign his contract with Audi. As far as I know, Audi or Volkswagen Group is the second largest manufacturer of automotive equipment in the world, and suddenly one of the best Formula 1 drivers refuses to drive for them and signs a contract with a private team.

I don’t think that was the only reason, but now the Sauber team is still far from the positions they would like to see at Audi. Many people are telling them that they need to accelerate the investments, otherwise Audi could end up as underdogs in 2026, which is bad for them and for Formula 1.

I am not surprised that Mattia Binotto is now leading the team. I have spoken to him twice since he signed the contract, but very briefly. He is working on a huge project, he should concentrate on that and not on talking to me.

“I’m glad they took action. They probably knew something was wrong, it’s obvious from the outside. This is not a criticism, but rather doubts about what’s happening, because they don’t comment on anything. But we see the difficulties of Kick Sauber and think about what the Audi team will face in 2026.”