Mattia Binotto is returning to F1

Mattia Binotto is returning to Formula 1.

The former Ferrari Team Principal has taken a role with Sauber, ahead of the team becoming the Audi works project in the 2026 season. In a statement issued by Audi, it was announced that Binotto is taking on the role of “Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer in the leadership team of Sauber Motorsport AG, with responsibility and accountability for the operative management and sporting success of the racing team. Mattia Binotto will report to the Board of Directors of Sauber Motorsport AG.”

It was also announced that Oliver Hoffmann and Andreas Seidl — who reportedly were locked in a “power struggle” in recent weeks over the direction of the Audi project — would be leaving the organization.

“I am delighted that we have been able to recruit Mattia Binotto for our ambitious Formula 1 project,“ says Gernot Döllner, CEO of AUDI AG. “With his extensive experience of more than 25 years in Formula 1, he will undoubtedly be able to make a decisive contribution for Audi.“

“Our aim is to bring the entire Formula 1 project up to F1 speed by means of clear management structures, defined responsibilities, reduced interfaces, and efficient decision-making processes. For this purpose, the team must be able to act independently and quickly,” says Gernot Döllner, who will take the position of chairman of the Board of Directors of Sauber Motorsport AG in the future.

Binotto’s most recent season in F1 was the 2022 campaign, where he served as Ferrari Team Principal. His tenure with the Scuderia was met with mixed results, and he was removed following the 2022 campaign.

The organization announced earlier this spring that Nico Hülkenberg would be moving to Sauber for the 2025 season, ahead of the Audi takeover in 2026. Hülkenberg has a previous relationship with Seidl and at the Miami Grand Prix the German driver told the media, including SB Nation, how critical Seidl was to recruiting him to the Audi project.

“So fortunate,” said Hülkenberg in Miami. “It came there, you know, through [Seidl]. And he’s a very direct and straightforward guy with me.

“I remember 2020, probably before the season started, and I was not sure what I wanted to do. But I remember phoning him up and, he was at McLaren obviously at the time, And I was looking [for a spot so I asked him] ‘[I]s there maybe a chance for me?’

“And he was straight. ‘No, don’t even get your hopes up. It’s not going to happen.

“And this time around, years later, it was very different, you know? And he was very keen to help me.”

However now it is Binotto that Hülkenberg will be working with next year.