Carlos Sainz landed a blow of disappointment to the Audi organisation this week when he finally turned down their overtures toward him once and for all. Carlos has a multi-year deal with Williams which will see him drive for the Grove based outfit until at least the end of 2026.
Audi were the first to move for Carlos when Ferrari revealed they were replacing him next year with seven times champion Lewis Hamilton. With Andreas Seidl in charge of the German F1 backed project, the attraction was obvious given their time together at McLaren.
Yet infighting between Seidl and corporate executive Oliver Hoffman saw the pair sacked by Audi in the run up to the Belgian Grand Prix. With Mattia Binotto taking the reigns, again this appeared a good fit for Carlos because the Italian brought him to Ferrari during his tenure as team principal.
Binotto in charge at Audi F1
Now with Sainz off the markers, Audi will surely look to retain the ten time Grand Prix winner Valtteri Bottas alongside Nico Hulkenberg. However, even when their driver lineup is resolved Audi have a mountain to climb to be ready for 2026.
Both Seidl and Hoffman had targeted Aston Martin’s team boss – Mike Krack – to become Audi’s future team principal. With Binotto now tasked with creating a structure for the budding team, its unclear which positions he is now looking to fill.
Mattia Binotto has exceptional technical skills and he may decide his focus is better served there than as tea principal for now.
Mike Krack who worked for another VW raining marque Porsche was asked in Belgium about the news of his offer from Audi.
Krack responds to Audi rumours
“I have here (at Aston Martin) the project of a lifetime, where you have someone investing so much to become a big team and to be part of that is an opportunity for everybody,” Krack added. “So my focus is on this project.
“’25 and ’26 is a huge challenge in front of us. That is where my thoughts are.”
The 52 year old from Luxemberg admitted to visiting the Sauber/Audi base in Hinwii recently. He insisted he’d “worked there for a long time” when BMW owned the team and that he still has “a lot of friends there”.
Krack was asked again about the Audi rumours by Sky Deutschland, but Krack’s reply was again not a categoric ‘no.’
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No clear denial from Krack
“Let’s keep our feet on the ground,” he responded. “It’s of course nice when you’re constantly being talked about, but you have to keep your focus on the task you have. That is clearly Aston Martin for now.”
German publication Bild now makes a big deal of the fact: “The team boss already avoided making a firm commitment to Aston Martin several weeks ago.
“The fact is, Krack would not only be flattered by an offer, but would also seriously consider it. The proof is the lack of a clear denial.
“A denial would have put an end to the speculation faster than Formula 1 cars accelerate from 0 to 100kph,” journalist Michel Milewski concluded.
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Aston Martin’s slump in form
Aston Martin came out of the blocks in 2023 as the closest competitor to world champions red Bull racing. Fernando Alonso claimed 6 podiums in the first eight races and for a while was the closest challenger to the Red Bull pairing.
Yet mid-season something changed for the Silverstone based team and they slid down to fifth scoring just two more podiums over the final 16 weekends of the season.
Lawrence Stroll has invested $200m in brand new facilities at Silverstone with a dedicated wind tunnel as part of the development and with a layout that provides for a better organised workload flow. Yet the results are not yet appearing from this investment despite the team moving to their new premises in May 2023.
From the two cars 28 starts this season, they have failed to score points on 13 of those occasions with Fernando scoring 9 times and Lance Stroll with just 6. That said in Hungary Lance Stroll who finished P10 was told to give the place to Fernando Alonso behind him but the Canadian ignored the team’s order unlike McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Technical team bolstered at Silverstone
Aston Martin continue to build their technical team announcing two key recruits over the past six weeks. Andy Cowell who oversaw the all conquering Mercedes V6 Hybrid power unit is expected to join in October in the role of group CEO.
Further, Ferrari are losing their chassis technical director to Aston Martin as Enrico Cardile will join as their F1 chief technical officer in January next year.
Team owner Lawrence Stroll said at the announcements: “I would like to welcome Enrico to Aston Martin Aramco as we look to reinforce the technical leadership team ahead of significant regulation changes in 2026.
“I am thrilled that we continue to attract world-class talent to our team. Enrico shares my motivation to be successful in F1 and will have all the resources available to him to realise that ambition.
“Together with Andy Cowell joining as Group CEO in October and our existing leaders we are creating a formidable team.”
Alonso warns Aston Martin team
Yet Lawrence Stroll will be concerned by the rumours his team principal is being courted by Audi. Krack joined Aston Martin in January 2022 replacing the outgoing boss Otmar Szafnaeur who left to run Alpine.
Fernando Alonso appeared upbeat following his P8 in Belgium last time out but warned the team more work is needed to catch their rivals ahead: “We were missing the pace we needed to fight for more today. As a team, I think we still have a lot of work to do to do catch back up to the top four teams.”
Team boss Mike Krack agreed with his star driver as he issued a rallying call for the team ahead of the Sumer break.
“We are moving in the right direction going into the summer break but there is still a lot to improve on in the second half of the season. Thank you to the entire team at the track and back at Silverstone who deserve a well-earned rest and then to come back fully recharged for Zandvoort with lots of opportunities ahead,” said Krack.
Williams boss addresses Sainz exit clause
Wolff all but confirms Antonelli for 202
With Carlos Sainz chess piece now off the board, the remaining driver contracts for 2025 should fall into place relatively quickly. Valtteri Bottas was close to a move to Williams had the Spaniard decided his future was elsewhere, but the Finn should now be resigned by Sauber/Audi who were holding out for Carlos as their first choice.
Alpine are yet to declare their hand in terms of a partner for Gasly but it could be a lifeline for Kevin Magnussen who Haas F1 have said will leave them at the end of this year.
This leaves Mercedes and Hamilton’s replacement and it appears all hope of Max Verstappen leaving to join the silver arrows for next year aer all but over. Comments from Toto Wolff now reported in Belgium suggest Mercedes will back junior driver Kimi Antonelli… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
