The Swiss-based Sauber crew are to open a UK base this yr as proprietor Audi gears up for its official entry into Formulation 1 in 2026.
A Sauber assertion stated the brand new technical centre can be within the so-called ‘motorsport valley’ within the south-east of England so Audi can faucet into the engineering expertise there.
The assertion stated the bottom would “present the crew with entry to the world’s largest motorsport experience and expertise pool” and “set up a platform to collaborate with prime specialists and appeal to native engineering expertise for the Audi F1 undertaking”.
Sauber has historically struggled to tempt engineers to hitch it as a result of its base at Hinwil in Switzerland requires relocation.
Against this, engineers can typically change between UK groups with out having to make make main life upheavals similar to transferring home and youngsters’s faculties.
Apart from Sauber, the one one of many 10 groups with out some type of base within the space comprising Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Surrey is Ferrari, which has its personal distinctive historic enchantment to potential targets.
The placement of the brand new base has not but been determined. Audi stated it was “evaluating potential areas inside ‘motorsport valley’, together with Bicester, Silverstone, and Milton Keynes”. It stated it aimed to have the UK technical centre “operational by summer time 2025”.
The brand new UK centre will probably be an built-in a part of the crew’s design division, which can nonetheless be based mostly on the fundamental F1 manufacturing facility in Hinwil. Audi’s engine division is at Neuberg an der Donau in Bavaria in Germany.
Sauber chief working and chief technical officer Mattia Binotto stated Hinwil and Neuburg “will proceed to steer our fundamental engineering operations and expertise the biggest crew progress”.
Binotto added: “Increasing into the UK permits us to stay near one of many world’s most dynamic motorsport ecosystems.
“Our imaginative and prescient is to create a powerful, collaborative community throughout Hinwil, Neuburg, and the UK, driving innovation and efficiency.”
Sauber completed 2024 final within the constructors’ championship and Audi says it’s conscious of how a lot work is required earlier than it will probably fulfil its ambition of competing on the entrance.
Final yr, Binotto likened Audi’s task in winning in F1 to climbing Mount Everest.
