Ex-Ferrari Team Boss Mattia Binotto Joins Audi, German Outfit Set for 2026 F1 Debut

Binotto who served as Ferrari's team principal from 2019 to 2022, has been out of F1 since leaving the Scuderia in the winter of 2022.

The Swiss-Italian has been appointed Audi's chief operating and chief technical officer and will start work on August 1 as the German marque prepares to enter F1 in 2026.

Making way at Audi/Sauber is former McLaren/Porsche team principal Andreas Seidl and the previous chairman of the board of directors of all Sauber companies Oliver Hoffmann.

Binotto's long F1 career

After graduating from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1994, Binotto joined Ferrari's engine department in 1995, becoming part of the test team. When he joined the iconic Italian team, they were going through a title drought, having last won the driver's championship with Jody Scheckter in 1979 and the constructor's title in 1983.

However, a switch from a V12 to a V10 engine in 1996 and the signing of reigning world champion Michael Schumacher from Benetton were the turning points for the prancing horse's fortunes. From 2000 to 2004, Ferrari ruled the roost, winning five consecutive drivers' and constructors' titles before conceding their crowns to Renault and Fernando Alonso in 2005.

In 2013, Binotto became head of the engine department, and in 2016, he became Ferrari's chief technical officer, replacing James Allison, who departed the team after his wife's death.

After Maurizio Arrivabene's dismissal from Ferrari in January 2019, Binotto succeeded him. The Maranello-based outfit won three times in his first season at the helm. Charles Leclerc took two victories, including a famous win at Monza, with Sebastian Vettel taking his final F1 victory at Singapore.

However, Ferrari's 2020 season was marred by a lack of pace and Vettel's departure to Aston Martin. In 2022, Leclerc's botched title bid threatened Binotto's position, and eventually, over the winter of the same year, he was released from his duties and replaced by Frenchman Fred Vasseur.

Sauber's on-track and off-track identity crisis

With Alfa Romeo ending its F1 involvement at the end of 2023, online casino Stake took over as Sauber's main sponsor for 2024, with live-streaming platform Kick also joining the team.

The team would rotate names throughout 2024 due to banned online gambling sponsorship in some countries, such as Australia, Spain, and Belgium. For races where gambling advertising is banned Stake will be renamed to Kick.

On-track Sauber has endured a horrendous first half of the season, with pitstop troubles costing the team's drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, any chance of points.

At Zhou's home race in China, Sauber broke into Q3 for the first time through Bottas, but once again, points eluded the Swiss team as an engine failure on Lap 19 put the Finn out of contention.

Since China, neither driver has made Q3, with Stake/Sauber the only team in 2024 not to have scored points.

The one silver lining for Sauber/Stake is they've been able to secure the services of German Nico Hulkenberg for 2025, who has twice finished in the top six for Haas in 2024.