The German manufacturer is not yet officially involved in Formula 1 and has already sold 40% of the shares in Sauber Group, the structure which houses its project, to a Qatari investment fund.
Audi has reportedly sold a minority stake in the team to Qatari investors with an option to take control of the company in the medium term, perhaps as early as 2026, through a discreet shareholders' pact.
This would be QSI (Qatar Sports Investments), well known in France for owning the PSG football club. The announcement of this agreement is expected to take place at the next Qatar Grand Prix at the end of the month.
Further speculation, according to the German magazine Car Motor and Sportbelieve that Qatar's sovereign wealth fund could offer lucrative sponsorship opportunities to the team.
Keeping up appearances
For reporter Ralf Bach (F1-insider), the four emblematic Audi rings will now be nothing more than a simple cover to hide the real identity of the team owner. A public relations exercise, in reality, to send a message that Formula 1 will not be expensive for the manufacturer, in the grip of great financial and operational difficulties.
Indeed, the electric car market is not taking off in Europe and the Volkswagen group, of which Qatar is already a 20% partner, can only see the extent of the damage on a commercial level. This forced VW to close three factories in Germany, an unprecedented event, while Audi has already announced the abandonment of the production site for the Q8 E-Tron electric SEV in Brussels for next March.
The Middle East is positioning itself
Well advanced in its takeover of 100% of the shares of Sauber Motorsport, Audi can no longer back down despite criticism from powerful German unions. In this context, the reinforcement constituted by the entry of QSI into the capital is welcome, the Qataris being keen to establish a long-term presence in F1.
Another Gulf state recently made a takeover bid for McLaren Automotive, the branch which designs and produces the brand's GTs, in this case Abu Dhabi, whose CYVN fund injected the necessary cash and now holds a significant share of McLaren Group , controlled by the Bahraini Sovereign Fund and owner of the McLaren Racing subsidiary which notably operates the Formula 1 team but also the IndyCar, Formula E and Extreme E teams.
