What's going on with Audi's F1 team behind the scenes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มิ.ย. 2024
- Key moves are being made in Audi’s journey to the F1 grid - even though its team STILL isn’t going to be called Audi for a couple more years.
The brand-new Audi engine project is being developed in parallel with a gradual takeover of Sauber with a clear goal: be competitive from the start in 2026 and fight for wins within three years of entering.
Audi bought a minority stake in Sauber at the start of 2023, is expected to own half the team this year, then be the majority shareholder by the start of 2025.
That IS still the plan despite the speculation that arose late in 2023, suggesting Audi might pull the plug on the whole thing before ever getting onto the grid.
The Sauber side denied this at the time and after more than 100 days in charge the verbal blockade on Audi’s new CEO was lifted in December too, and he has since confirmed the F1 project continues as planned.
00:00 Why Audi stayed quiet
03:19 Millions invested
05:32 A lot to work on
08:09 Treading water
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If I had a dollar for every F1 team that had the goal of "being competitive at the start and fighting for wins in 3 years", I'd be able to start my own F1 team.
How long before you expect your new F1 team to become competitive and fight for wins?
Audi will be competitive time will tell..
And being competitive in 3 years
@@Leith_Crowther 3 years. For sure.
@@Leith_Crowther
I feel Audi has got too much hype surrounding F1 and underperform in their 1st year and everyone will start criticizing them too much.
And now imagine if Sauber would be branded as the Audi works entry as early as this year, waiting until the Audi PU is ready and the team fully transitions is a smart move.
*too
The build up is self inflicted listening and believing opinions.
This is JUST this guys opinion on Audi’s F1 program. This channel has a financial stake in this opinion.
See how that works?
Yep
Well what does one expect when they have been pursued for what 20 y to join and they finally decide to play originally with both Audi and Porsche on different be- spoke programs.... Only for the Porsche deal to fall apart so now all eyes are in Audi and IF they will finally make it happen for real...
Nah Audi isn’t relevant enough in F1 to anyone cares that much
Looking forward already to Crofty and Brundle making some Stake/Steak puns. "Those tyres look well done" etc
Do you think the Stake will change to the mediums or the well dones, Martin? hahahaha 🙄
There is literally a video to the right of your comment which says "Valtteri Bottas's F1 Future is At Stake"
"Stake is betting on the change to medium tyres", etc.
they might just have to say Sauber most of the time, calling them Stake is promoting a gambling company which is illegal in most parts of the world.
"Valteri is into Q3, quite a rare stake"
I think it's actually a quite smart and sensible approach. Buy gradually taking over ownership in Sauber they will get the full say in 2026 and even already in 2025 as a majority shareholder.
By letting the team run 'independently' in the 'inbetween years', the team can raise funds from 3rd party sponsors (like Kick/Stake) instead of running an Audi sponsored brand. By this, the annual budget is funded by 3rd party sponsorships, whilst Audi can fully steer 100% of their investments in the PU and the facilities in Neuburg, instead having to spread the money out already to the F1 team.
From a F1 fan point-of-view in fully understand that this seems like a lackluster and lack-of-interest approach, but from a business economics point-of-view it is a smart move. Whether it actually pays off, only 2026 will tell.
Well said. Also gives them the brand the ability to ramp up their understanding of the sport, development, infrastructure and personnell to run a F1 team. Theyre not just going all in and having to learn and apply everything at the same time.
Think VW group.
Think EV sales current and future.
Think money.
Think being an investor.
Think tax credits and replacing your current beat up ICE car.
Think $500 MILLION for a ICE racing team and being MAYBE competitive in THREE years.
Think big picture.
Think business model.
Think of VW group as a whole that sells cars.
Where is VW’s current sales and future sales of EV’s?
Will this expensive dive into a ICE top tier racing team improve my bottom line ?
It’s a business.
Investors DEMAND a return on investment and quick now a days.
This ain’t it!
Yet another oncoming VW financial blunder.
@@guybeingaguyjust piss off
No one spending money on racing with a mindset that they'll get direct profit from such project. The cash comes from reputation you earn with your participation.
You talk too much, try to be smart but your head is just empty as your word.
@@guybeingaguy it's more about having a billboard running in circles in one of the most popular motorsport, doesn't matter if F1 is using ICE or electric. but i do agree investors would doubt whether audi can actually be competitive enough to actually enhance the brand's image just like mercedes did after pouring that much money into it.
@@guybeingaguyEV sales lol ok
They're SAUBER, i'll never call them Stake.
Well they will be Audi so you wont have to worry about it
I know but seriously?? What's the problem with going back to Sauber for 2 years?? Rhetorical question
Totally agree. I heard Ed Straw referring to them as ‘Stake’ in The Race’s recent podcast and it makes even a well regarded journalist like him sound like a corporate shill.
I don't see the problem. Clearly the team's fans have alot of personal Stake in the team so might as well enjoy it (even if the results are potentially well done).
@@RACECAR the Alpha Tauri/Toro Rosso team is reportedly going going to be officially called the “VISA Cash App RB” team this year. Can you see the problem now?
The fact that Audi recognise that more investment is required is good.
It’s the Volkswagen cash register with EV’s being the future. I’m not witnessing VW investing in that aspect which will show itself right along side this debacle.
I’m not seeing a financial chance in hell of this succeeding.
@@guybeingaguy it’s an Audi project. Why would VW need to interfere with the operations? Makes no sense. F1 has a big history with car manufacturers interfering with the operations or being delusional with their management and failing. Jauguar, Toyota, the modern day Ferrari and even Renault now with Alpine. All these car manufacturers have one thing in common, their board is detached from the reality of modern F1 and only seek the brand exposure. The same thing will happen to the Audi F1 project if VW interfere.
@@WaelAli-sd8sw Get your head out from under the hood of your ICE car for a minute. Racing is a business, but small (suppose to be🤪) compared to the business model of SELLING cars.
Currently sales of EV’s are at 5-8%. This has been shown to be a MAJOR tipping point historically across all sales.
The VW Group comprises ten brands from five European countries: Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, ŠKODA, SEAT, CUPRA, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche and Ducati. In addition, the Volkswagen Group offers a wide range of further brands and business units including financial services.
Audi (VW group) is conservatively investing a HALF BILLION dollars on a combustible engine, top notch racing team during this historical change to EV’s.
These issues are running parallel to each other at the same time. It can’t run like that for too long before collapsing. Think of how a pyramid scheme collapses, same financial concept.
Remind me again of where VW investing across all brands to be competitive in the currently exploding (pun intended 😎) EV market?
I rest my case.
It’s a upcoming financial disaster for VW ……………..again.
@@WaelAli-sd8sw They don't need VW for that. Audi will do it themselves.
@@WaelAli-sd8swwhy wouldn’t VW interfere when VW owns Audi? Audi isn’t on an island they still have to make their bosses happy.
Can't wait for Audi's commitment to come into question every time they have a bad race
Yep. This is the problem with factory teams.
Yeah I hope VW doesn't pull their plug after a few bad seasons.
I’ll never get used to an F1 team called Stake. Just makes me think of Steak.
Makes me think of off-shore crypto casinos
It’s rare (even medium rare) we see an F1 team named like that, but I think this has been well-done
Just call it by it’s real name and not the sponsor shilling name then.
it's the tatsumakisempuukyaku Sauber F1 team. XD
I hope they don't just pull the plug if they're not up there getting regular wins in 3 years. But as far as rumors and news goes surrounding them, they sound volatile and likely to fracture.
This is what I am worried about, and along with that we are loosing another long term f1 team sauber even if they did use other names it was always the sauber group that kept the team running
Losing is the name of the game in f1. New teams need to expect to be 7th or worse in the championship for each of its first 3-4 years before any results come, especially if they're tying to spend like a midfielder. If Audi wants to be a top 3 team they need to spend like a top 3 team even in the shitty early years.
@@parkercrossland410 it's not as easy to spend your way to the top now with the cost caps in place. Mercedes was the last team that was able to spend enough money to do it with no cost cap and it even took them a couple of years to get there with the massive budget they had
Seeing the explosion in HyperCar and given their proven success……
They are going to regret this!
I think it's more or less certain they won't get regular wins in 3 years.
getting in F1 and being successful must be a nearly impossible task.
Except if you pull a Brawn
@@thegreatafrican3367 While getting in was defiantly easy for them we really shouldn't downplay the amount of ingenuity and hard work it took to also succeed.
your statement needs to specify time, otherwise is just nonsensical since all successful teams literally needed to get into F1 first.
@@thegreatafrican3367They didnt start in 2009 though. The car was projected and constrcut by Honda.
The difference is that Honda just give up his team for free.
since most teams arent successful it seems like a valid random statement.@@adrianfuentes8423
Hat’s off to The Race for continuing to produce compelling relevant interesting content during the F1 winter break. IMHO, you have no competition in this subject. It’s invaluable to fans like me eager for a “fix” while we wait for the next season to start. Top work!
love the smoother video effects. they look super clean!
I understand that the money is important but, there should be a vetting process in place to stop companies like the one that has bought the Sauber naming rights from getting such prominent naming rights. This company has repeatedly used influencers with very large child audiences to heavily advertise and glorify slot machine style gambling. This isn't a gambling company who's userbase is the old boy putting a few quid on the horses or the lads betting on the football which can get bad enough. This company is getting it's hooks into the very young and deploy the shadiest of business practices. I implore everyone to look into the videos that are on youtube about this company and why they have their own streaming platform.
Mate, huge oil companies still sponsor F1, and tobacco companies are still trying to get their influence into F1. What your talking about is absolutely fucking nothing. Crazy people like you are clutching pearls over this relatively small thing.
F1 has a history of dodgy sponsorship deals... and it won't change anytime soon unfortunately
Well said but F1 has never , will never be much concerned with morals . They'll take the mullah wherever it comes from , provided there is a probability they'll get away with it.
Damn I work for Sauber and the info's you have are on spot, kudos! Didn't know so much came to the public, and good on how you keep low on stuff that is only "hearsay".
Great channel, keep up the good work !
Great analysis video 💯
“The team we now know as Stake” you guys and everyone else in the media can call them whatever you want, the rest of us are calling them Sauber.
Good luck Audi! You have a long way to go to live up to your racing heritage. I hope you don't quit.
Imagine a competitive grid with Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Audi and even Aston Martin. Most likely too good to be true, but one can hope.
Stake is spelled like this: S A U B E R
Hilarious that they won't let andretti in but at the same time worried the Audi might pull out 😂😂😂
Well, the difference being that audi takes over an existing team. Andretti wants to run as a new entry. And the other teams don't like an 11th team.
I’m a Audi fan. Hate turned to respect when they dominated the WEC.
This has all the hallmarks of being a complete disaster.
Financing, expectations vs reality, return on investment, timetable and a few other variables that are completely dependent on others.
I wish them luck though 👍
They haven't won the WEC since 2013. Hardly domination
I wouldn't say complete disaster, but I think they'll be fighting with Alpine more than with Red Bull
those aren't hallmarks of a complete disaster what in the world are you smoking dude?????? who are you even???
@@Lora_Beolab THIS has all the hallmarks of a disaster.
THIS
THIS
THIS
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THIS
THIS
THIS
THIS
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THIS
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THIS
THIS
THIS
THIS
THIS
THIS
THIS
THIS
THIS has all the hallmarks of a disaster.
Pay attention. You make others peoples lives more difficult and you wonder why no one invites you to parties.
Between engine, er, PU, and the team itself, Audi is in for $1B-ish gross over 3 years, maybe 4 years with sponsorship. They really need good (EV) sales to kick in.
Thank you.
Love the real footage
I've got a bad feeling about this, it feels like Audi will quite before 2026. I hope I'm wrong though, it would be a cool brand to have on the grid.
They should have called the team Saudi. A nice mix between AUDI and Sauber.
If that team really is starting to transition into Audi for 2026, it would be concerning if 2024 and 2025 don't at least bring with it some improvements on track and ultimately finishing somewhere in P6 or P7 in the constructors. If they can't do that, then competing at the front would be a pipe dream for 2026.
They're not going to be doing any in season development in 2025 either.
No way im calling it Stake or Kick at select races during the next couple of seasons. Sauber it is!
The engine spend for Audi is overblown. Porsche has an F engine built and ready for the grid and then decided not to join. They have an entire system in place.
porsche wanted to have their own works team but wanted to start off at the top, absolutely shameless behaviour. hopefully all will go well for audi later.
Nice fake statements
Audi entering F1 appears similar to how Toyota entered F1.. Good luck to Audi and team..
Toyoya build F1 team from scratch
Not Audi
@@Ariespradana13Toyota was a mess all around. Hired middling drivers, hired middling personnel, pulled out at their most competitive
I just hope they get Seb back in the sport for 3-4 years
Im getting hungry from all this Steak talk
I'm excited to see how this team looks in 2026 and over the next few years as well. I think they're going to take a risk on up and coming drivers to build some excitement around the soon to be new team.
As an Audi fan love the fact they are in F1 but not sure Sauber is a wise base as it has been several teams over the years with no consistency. And the fact McLaren, Williams and Alpine have been struggling for years gives you a view of the task in hand. But I hope they prove everyone wrong
No chance they’re fighting for wins within 3 years
They might run in first place for a few laps for an insane rain race combined with a lucky optimal tyre change and call it an achieved goal.
You have know idea what Audi did in other race series. They have lots of experience.
Audi R8, R10 TDI, R15 TDI, R15+ TDI, R18 TDI, R18 Ultra, R18 e-tron quattro, R18 (2016) w@@TheEryk03
@@TheEryk03
Other racing series are not F1.
Audi wouldn’t be the first manufacturer to waltz in, thinking that they could come in and compete at the top within a handful of years yet end up leaving the sport with egg on their face.
Toyota thought they’d come in and challenge at the top, yet from 2002-2009 failed to win a race before they left after the financial crash of 2008/2009.
BMW made the strongest engines in the early 2000’s, then partnered with Sauber for 4 season from 2006 -2009 and only won 1 race before also dropping out after 2009.
There have been manufacturers that have come in and built competitive F1 engines, but to run a whole team and therefore also be responsible for the aerodynamics of the car is a completely different story. Most manufacturers that supplied great engines for a few years and then tried to go it completely alone as a full team have failed.
Mark my words if Audi end up being not particularly competitive for a handful of years, they’ll pull on the F1 operation very quickly!
@@jermaineayivoh8263 But the Audi is not Toyota nor BMW
The day I see a car on the starting grid with an Audi logo is the day I will believe Audi is actually in Formula 1
Audi have reached the top in everything they have entered in motor sport.
There is truth in your statement no doubt.
We are talking about 1/2 a BILLION inve$tment over a 3 year time period conservatively right?
In 3 years what percentage of sales will be EV?
Tax credits, price of gas, charging infrastructure, job creation a quick transition is happening right before our eyes.
Investors expect a return on investment (quickly now a days) and a half a billion (conservatively) investment today as a virgin F1 team is a certain financial disaster.
Also being a multiple brand group like VW makes that next level difficult teetering on impossible.
@@guybeingaguyIt's their faul that they don't fight with silly EU.
"Stake" 🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩
🤣😂😂
I wish Sauber could race as Sauber again :(
They should go back doing Rally
Audi's PU will be worse than the 2015 Honda and will be tough years. Audi (VWG) underestimated F1 and I feel like know they are starting to realise how hard it is to even compete. Time will tell but it's not looking too good.
The engines for 2026 will be simpler than when Honda entered, and Audi is in a different situation because it already has some experience with high-performance hybrid powertrains compared to Honda at that time.
@@Dqtube they already produce an in line four hybrid for DTM
Honda's engines were awful because McLaren put impossible demands onto them
This is nothing like Audi at all buddy
Audi has lots of experience with electric and hybrid powertrains in WEC, FE and Dakar unlike Honda in 2015.
Honda joined the game late, 2026 is fresh architecture for all.
I'll believe it when an Audi badged car lines up on the grid.
Same here. They have am extremely fickle history in terms of motorsport commitments at this point.
@@dln.sweeney And even so they won every motorsport they entered.
@@pr0gn0sis65 I’m not debating that, I’d just be surprised to see them follow through.
I PREDICT THAT SUCCESS WILL BE RARE FOR STAKE
How is a sport with a budget cap more expensive than expected?
I'd love a chess move of Audi acquiring majority of shares as per plan, then selling that stake to Andretti F1. The drama 😂
Yep and the cost oculd have been halved if Porsche had stayed in and Volkswagon group could have built one engine and then rebadged one and having the " other engine " sold off to a customer team to help recoup some of the costs. The other team could have been known as a factory Audi team with the Porsche brand on the Sauber team which Volkswagon would eventually own and control their future. Pitty it didn't happen,
sauber's future is at a stake
Sauber is gambling on Stake!
And audi probably underestimated, classic
I think imma call sauber “not quite Audi yet f1 team” from now on
The sponsorship weirdness is entirely to be expected. As soon as Audi ramp up their involvement, there's no way another car company would want to be a main sponsor. And with the team going full Audi in a couple of years, any title sponsorship would have to be short term, which lends itself to smaller businesses and startups
I miss the name n color of Alfa Romeo. It's going to hurt their sales now leaving f1
How and why is the FIA controlling the expenditure of an entity which is not even in F1 yet?!
What stopped the VW group to start work on the engine prior to putting pen on paper?
If a tech company decides to develop part of a F1 power unit, will it not be able to sell the technology to F1 teams because it started developing it without the blessing of the FIA?
It's all a mess.
It will be interesting to see a 5-cilinder, front wheel drive understeery F1 car, driven by an accountmanager.
They'll be masters of slip streaming.
And dominate like in other race series Audi was.
Not sure what Audi is doing behind the scenes but one thing we can be sure is that they are trying to sign contracts with every driver on the grid according to all the rumors.
Drivers dont make winning teams they are part of a team.
@@George246-zg1zw exactly
Just please make a livery that doesn't look like everyone else's.
Why have a brand like Audi agreed to such a bizarre renaming?
Call me crazy but I will still not belive a VW brand car will be in F1 until i see it on the grid. Been fooled too many time by these people.
So what you're saying is there's a lot at......STAKE!?
Hinwil mentioned! Es het en grosse Chreeisel!🇨🇭⭕️
Vw /Audi entered WRC in 2013. Dominated 2013,2014,2015 and 2016 then left WRC.🤔
Audi's team principal is guenther steiner ❤
So basically the media got carried away last year when making claims that Audi would pull out.
I'm really now getting bored with the current F1 era. The 90s era was the best. The more teams more competition more drama
Vorsprung durch Technik
So it’s when you’ll see them. You’ll believe them - in F1.
Fight for wins in 3 years, well good luck with that goal....
20 way tie for constructor champ?
2026 they will spend those money,
2024-2025 not..
Audi will need a decent driver combo too. Bottas and Zhou are neither. Reasonable targets maybe Sainz and Albon.
Yeah Sainz will be the first Audi driver.
I think Audi will spend the next 2 years talking themselves down and pushing their targets back for when they want to be competitive
Audi? I’m expecting them to be another Toyota / BMW / Honda / Jaguar / Ford.
I dont understand your comments
BMW and Honda at least won titles as engine manufacturers
Make Gunter the new boss of AUDI. He will be the GOAT !
Audi is trying to be the next Redbull i guess
Someone at Volkswagen is saying why are we wasting money on ice cars when we are switching to Eva’s. Let’s spend the money to improve are lousy Eva’s and the software😂😂😂😂😂😂
They realise it will take more than 3 years to even get close to RBR, Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, meanwhile their true rivals are off to WEC.
Volkswagen group is known to take names when they decide to race, WRC they took names, WEC again they took names, MOTO GP taking names as we speak, Volkswagen will be a player in F1 or they will pull out and not try.
Thank God for Ducati 🙏
Too bad the livery will be covered in sponsors
Audi already regretted it
"Not Audi Yet - Formula One Team" would have been better
it sounds like its all going to fall apart don t belive audi will be on the 2026
As embarrassing as it was to refer to Sauber as Alfa Romeo, it is pathetic to call them ‘Stake’ for the next two seasons. Journalists simply shouldn’t do it because it’ll incentivise other teams to change their names so they can make more money. The team is Sauber, it has been consistently since 2010. Period.
This has all the hallmarks of Toyota 2.0
Can you just call it sauber please
I just get the impression that Audi will just be a German modern Ferrari. Too much politcs and ceo changes to get a clear vision and ambitions.
Audi should had kept their mouths shut about entering F1 in 2026, and instead in mid 2025 made a press release saying, we will see you in Bahrain in 2026.
I give Audi a maximum of 3 years before VW pulls the plug.
mmmm, Steak F1 Team
First thing they need to do is axe James Key. He was the main responsible for the shortcomings of McLaren in the seasons when he was there, and now he is pulling Sauber (or Stake, Kick, whatever you wanna call them) down as well with his poor aerodynamic choices.
the sacking of VW chairman is KEY to understanding how this will all fan out....
Check that, and the writing is on the wall.
I feel sorry for the people working for the team.
Sauber f1 really has sold its self for mercedes, bmw, ferrari, alfa romeo, and porsche finally.
Audi can’t really make too much noise publicly whilst a rival Ferrari engine is in the back of the car.
All the back markers want to jump to midfield, the midfield want to jump to front runners, and front runners want to win.
There will be some big disappointments I would think. Except Haas I don’t see them doing anything but being left behind.
They bring no value whatsoever
Gene haas must be kicking himself that he didnt sell his worthless team to andretti
To remind you, Audi simply has more titles, podiums, Awards in 24hrs le mans than Ferrari.
I’m getting Toyota vibes
Will the Audi team drivers adopt the same driving style as Audi drivers on our public roads?
Well they always want to race at the lights so.
Would you prefer Volvo to enter F1 🤣🤣🤣
@@knight2425 Volvo say it's too dangerous and dangerous is bad. Imagine F1 bolid with 180 kmh limiter.
Why don't name the entry "Sauber" for last time before Audi name would be adopted? Typical big corp bureaucrats.
Update: now I understand what's the problem. Title sponsor Stake + Sauber name make SS for abbreviation. So they need something inside to avoid it.
Oh no… anyways. Who give a fuck?
@@shrimpshrubbery7664 everybody who cares about F1.
@@makb_the_striker I’m talking about the abbreviation
@@shrimpshrubbery7664 when A.J. Foyt Enterprise in IndyCar tried to pick numbers 14 and 88 (14 is traditional for the team and 88 was chosen by Pedersen), they were forced to change second number to 55 😉 So yes, it seems, that some people care.
I love how F1 talks about bringing in all these engine manufactures and yet they don’t seem to want Andretti and GM in the mix.
Your pal Andretti and GM have made zero investment to date.
Why are you yelling. Your pitch doesn't require it.
Not seen the other videos?
A gambling company shouldn’t be the name of a sports team… vices and sport don’t go along
Sports IS a vice, and has gone hand in hand with gambling for centuries
Audi has been dragging this on for years, time to tell Audi to go away.
Imagine if in 2026 Audi produce an absolute shitter of a car & engine then pull a Honda & pull out 😂😂
all that hype & buildup to stay in the same place Alfa Romeo-Sauber was pre-takeover
wordd