Formula One F1 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - December 6, 2025 Sauber chief technical and operating officer Mattia Binotto arrives for qualifying REUTERS/Jakub Porzycki
Dec 18 (Reuters) - Mattia Binotto expects Audi to show they mean business in Formula One next season, even if they do not spring any surprises.
The former Ferrari boss, now leader of what was Sauber and will from January race as Audi's works team, is following a long-term plan that the German manufacturer hopes will tee up a title challenge in 2030.
Sauber already established themselves this season as regular points contenders, even if they finished ninth out of 10.
Confidence has grown under new principal Jonathan Wheatley, a winner recruited from Red Bull to run the team trackside, and the points tally of 70 was their most since 2012 and a massive improvement on the meagre four of 2024 and 16 of 2023.
German veteran Nico Hulkenberg's first career podium, a surprise third place at Silverstone in July, added to the optimism.
NEW ENGINE AN UNKNOWN QUANTITY
The Audi engine being built in Germany remains an unknown quantity but Binotto told Reuters he remained confident and committed for the future.
"I think, as a project, we are going in the right path, the right direction and some credibility. We are building some credibility," he said.
"I can see the dynamic, how much the dynamic has changed."
Audi's step has not always been so assured, with the early phase marked by internal upheaval and lingering doubts about the manufacturer's true commitment.
Senior team management was replaced, with former boss Andreas Seidl and Audi management representative Oliver Hoffmann both leaving in July last year when Binotto arrived. On the engine side, chief executive Adam Baker left in May.
On the plus side, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) acquired a significant minority stake in the team a year ago and Revolut was announced as the future title sponsor last July.
Audi will launch the new race livery with some fanfare in Berlin on January 20.
Binotto said the uncertainty about the team's future had been swept away by the scale of the new investment: "For the employees, that's pretty clear. We are expanding, we are investing in the long term. Those facts are bringing a lot of credibility towards the project for the employees. There is no doubt that Audi is fully committed.
"The investments that we are doing currently with Audi, all of them are long-term projects because they are investments that we will see the return on them, in terms of performance, maybe in three or four years' time."
Binotto said talk of Audi being more competitive than expected in 2026, when the sport undergoes possibly its biggest ever technical overhaul, was too optimistic.
"I think we need patience, we are still in that building phase," he said.
"I'm not expecting to have the best engine next year at all, but still it doesn't matter because we know that we have set our objectives for 2030.
"We don't intend to be a surprise next year."
Former champions Red Bull are also making their own power unit but Binotto said the two teams were not really in a comparable situation.
While Audi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five years in a row from 2010-14, it was with a diesel-engined car far removed from anything in Formula One. Red Bull, partnered with Ford, have recruited heavily from other F1 manufacturers.
"I think, they've got more specific skills," said Binotto. "We've got the background of what's Audi, what's the knowledge of Audi, which in the long term will certainly make the difference."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
