The big new Formula One power unit changes coming in 2026 were intended to attract more manufactures into the sport. The regulations were initially intended to replace the current V6 turbo hybrids two seasons ago, but a lack of interest from auto manufacturers outside the sport together with FIA inertia saw the new F1 engines repeatedly delayed.

With development of the current power units frozen from 2022 the FIA decided that a huge new direction in car design and their aerodynamics would replace the delayed new F1 engine era. Yet even the additional years of consultation for the new F1 propulsion systems saw only Audi join the sport with the intention of running a works team.

 

 

 

Audi the only ‘true’ new F1 manufacturer

Yet far from the big new F1 entry expected, Audi decided to buy the Swiss based Sauber team but have phased their acquisition over a number of years. 

Porsche meanwhile fell by the wayside as their big talk and ideas for Formula One entry came to nothing. The German sports-car brand decided it was too big a risk to start from scratch and sought to collaborate with Red Bull Racing in a similar fashion to Audi with Sauber.

Yet the over bureaucratic management style proposed by Porsche sent Christian Horner and his team running for the hills and so late in the day Porsche were left high and dry with no other options but to admit defeat on their Formula One dreams.

Within weeks Red Bull had announced they would now collaborate with Ford in the new F1 engine era, though this was in no way intended to be a relationship where Ford returned to the sport as a full time supplier of power units. Ford will contribute huge amounts of money for the F1 exposure and technical assistance on the electrical components of the new F1 engines.

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Sauber forced to “sell their souls”

Audi meanwhile have dawdled along with their preparations to join F1 and Sauber having lost their title sponsor Alfa Romeo following the Audi announcement, have been left in some kind of limbo as the German investment trickles into the team.

Further they have been forced to sell their souls to new sponsors to finance their F1 racing during the interim period and now have registered the quite ridiculous name with the FIA for 2024 of Stake Sauber Kick F1 team.

Now the soon to be Audi, Swiss based team faces another problem as they seek to fund the next two years before the become the Audi team. Stake, a gambling organisation, are not licensed in Switzerland and there prominent branding on the car livery revealed today has prompted action from the Federal Casino Commission, which has opened proceedings against Sauber, posing a risk of at least a significant fine.

Legal expert Patrick Krauskopf, a professor of competition law at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, told SRF publication the following:

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Sauber marketing spin all about money shortfall

“Sponsoring would be allowed. In the present case, the brands Stake and Sauber are so linked together, or the term Stake is so strongly imprinted in the minds of viewers, that we have probably crossed the red line into unauthorized advertising.”

In response to the events Sauber is prepared to adapt their branding and team name as required by local laws, with stand in team principal Alumni Bravi confirming their commitment to legal compliance. 

“As we did last year, we will adhere to all applicable laws,” he says. “And if Stake is banned, we will have an alternative team name. Depending on the country, we work with Stake or Kick, a different sponsor.”

The new livery revealed today has been received well by fans but is fundamentally built around the marking of team sponsor ‘Stake.’ Something which is fundamental to the team’s marketing as Bravi states: “Of course, there are under the Stake umbrella different brands, including gaming, including betting, but it’s a company that is very dynamic and that will help us to really expand our fan base, and to reach a new target that is very important for our team and all of our partners.”

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Audi project not ready for 2026

The Sauber interim team principal attempts to spin the positives from their new sponsor having previously been associated with Italian car maker Alfa Romeo.

“This year, of course, for us it’s easier: we have a new and clear identity,” he said. “We start here with an event that I think is a testament of what we want to do with a new motto for the team, ‘unleashed’, that for us means really the way we want to communicate, the way we want to be perceived.”

Is Bravi really saying that Alfa Romeo held them back and this year the Swiss based operation is “unleashed” from its shackles? Well this is mere marketing speak. 

Sauber along with Haas F1 were the rubbing rags of the field in 2022 and the recent announcement from technical director James Key that “ultimately, we’re probably not going to be the final [Audi] product that we’re aiming for until about ’27 time really, because there is a lot to do.”

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Sauber in limbo until Audi step up

“Of course, this also needs to be supported by the results on track. We are all working together to deliver a better job and more performance. It is important that we have everything.”

It is probable that Sauber will bumble along for at least two more seasons at the back of the F1 grid while their new German partners grasp the nettle as to what it takes to own an F1 team. Falling foul of their home nation’s rules on advertising is hardly professional but is something Audi must take some responsibility for.

Further, it is hardly a sign of ultimate commitment from Audi that they allow their future partner to suffer such humiliating financial prostitution of themselves, all for the sake of some up front cash from the German auto manufacturer.

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