For Switzerland’s Sauber, it’s an immense step. Certainly, Peter Sauber, the founding father of the Formulation 1 group, was towards it for a lot of many years: opening his group’s manufacturing unit exterior of Switzerland. Sauber was and is Swiss, was his motto. However instances are altering; Sauber is turning into Audi, and the German producer’s ambitions are sky-high.
The group led by Mattia Binotto desires to maneuver to the highest of the grid as quickly as doable from 2026, preventing for Grand Prix wins and even world titles. These targets can solely be achieved with one of the best drivers, one of the best amenities and one of the best folks. That’s exactly what Sauber has at all times lacked.
Audi can compete with the highest groups
In Formulation 1, nearly all groups have settled (at the very least partly) round London. So the folks working for these groups additionally reside on this space. Admittedly, good F1 personnel change employers often, however then these folks often achieve this at different groups within the space. Choosing up their complete possessions and settling down in Switzerland, it not often occurs – or there should be a very excessive pay.
Audi – who’s engaged on the F1 venture in Germany and Switzerland anyway – is aware of this too, which is exactly why it determined to open a facility within the UK. For the primary time within the group’s lengthy historical past, will probably be doable to draw expertise with out these folks having to maneuver to central Europe.
Particularly if the wage is nice – and Audi continues to be within the technique of constructing in the direction of the price range cap, which implies that extra is usually prone to be doable than on the prime groups – then a transfer from, say, Purple Bull Racing or McLaren out of the blue turns into engaging.
Ferrari solely remaining ‘dissident’
After Italian Racing Bulls already opened a facility within the UK, Ferrari is presently the one remaining F1 group not represented within the British territory. That’s unlikely to vary both. Regularly, that may very well be seen as a slight drawback in comparison with the competitors.
Admittedly, Ferrari has much less to concern from a defection to a different group – in any case, the worker would then have to maneuver to the opposite facet of Europe – however selecting off different prime expertise turns into a bit harder with Audi current in England.
This was already evident final yr, when Ferrari hoped to herald Adrian Newey after the designer left Purple Bull Racing. Reportedly, one of many defining causes for the Brit to not go to Ferrari was that he didn’t wish to transfer to Italy and away from the UK. Had Ferrari had a facility in Britain, that selection may need been totally different.
This text was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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