On January 30, Sauber Group issued a statement,According to the plan outlined in October last year, Audi will acquire Sauber Group in January 2023 minority stake. This is an important milestone in Audi's plan to enter Formula One (F1) in 2026, and Sauber Group will become the German brand's strategic partner.

In October 2022, Audi announced that it had selected Sauber as its strategic partner to enter F1 and will compete as a factory team starting from the 2026 season. The new power unit will be designed and manufactured by Audi's motorsport R&D center in Germany, while Sauber will continue to develop and upgrade racing cars at its headquarters in Switzerland, and will continue to be responsible for the team's competition planning and specific operations.

Currently, the Audi Motorsport R&D center in Neuburg is being expanded. The new building covers an area of ​​approximately 3,000 square meters and is equipped with a new test bench for the development of power units. Expansion work has now officially begun. Currently, the Neuburg R&D Center is building a complete power unit including energy recovery systems, electric motors, batteries, high-efficiency internal combustion engines and transmissions for the F1 project. The system will be approximately 50% powered by electricity.

While the infrastructure continues to expand, the team at the Neuburg R&D Center is also growing steadily. Currently, about 220 employees have joined the F1 project. Audi plans to expand the number of employees to more than 300 by mid-2023.

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Editor: Qin Qingbao