Audi F1 BOMBSHELL drops with chief set to exit role in official team statement

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Audi BOMBSHELL drops with F1 chief set to exit role in official team statement

A Sauber chief is set to depart ahead of Audi's F1 arrival

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 15 January 2025 12:44 Updated: 21:37

A major Audi bombshell has been dropped with a Sauber Formula 1 chief set to exit their role in an official team statement.

Sauber faces its final season on the F1 grid in 2025, before the team is taken over by German manufacturer Audi for 2026 and beyond.

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Audi will also become a power unit supplier in 2026, following the announcement that future engines will feature increased electrical power in the new set of F1 regulations.

However, Sauber have a huge task ahead of them before Audi's arrival, where they will hope to peel themselves away from the back of the grid after finishing last in the constructors’ standings in 2024.

Sauber finished last in the constructors' in 2024

Sauber announce team chief exit ahead of Audi arrival

One Sauber team member will not oversee Audi’s takeover of the team in 2026, however, with team representative and managing director, Alessandro Alunni Bravi, leaving the team at the end of January 2025.

The Italian joined the team in 2017 as general counsel and board member, and was appointed managing director in 2022, before taking on the role of team representative in 2023.

"It is an emotional time as my journey with Sauber reaches its end," Alunni Bravi said in an official statement regarding his exit.

"Since I joined in 2017, I have seen this team grow and change beyond what anyone could have imagined.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi will leave Sauber

"This organisation went through exciting and difficult times alike, all without ever losing its spirit and its commitment, which is something I find inspiring, and I was proud of being able to represent the team as its public face in the last two years.

"As I move on to a new project, I want to thank Finn Rausing, all those who put so much trust and faith in me at Sauber and Audi, and all the colleagues I have been working with for the last eight years. This team is a family and has a bright future ahead."

F1 Audi Sauber Alessandro Alunni Bravi