Almost DKK 8 billion was miscalculated when Audi looked at Sauber's budget in Formula 1, says Ralf Schumacher.
1 billion euros or the equivalent of almost 8 billion Danish kroner.
That's what Audi miscalculated when budgeting to take over Sauber's Formula 1 team. At least if you ask the former Formula 1 choir and current commentator Ralf Schumacher.
The mistake, says Schumacher, did not just mean that Sauber had to give Zhou Guanyu a seat in 2024 to keep some of the money at home through the Chinese's sponsorships. Audi was also on the verge of withdrawing from the entire project.
Thus, Formula 1, as it has been rumored ever since Audi announced the takeover of Sauber, could have been without the German car company in 2026.
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In March, however, Audi itself tried to put the rumors to rest by taking over all of Sauber. Something that was otherwise not planned. Now, however, both one and the other boss have been fired from the project again. Read more about it here.
Nico Hülkenberg, who Audi has hired ahead of the 2025 season, has since stated that the sackings of the people he thought would be his bosses are behind him.
However, Ralf Schumacher has more up his sleeve. In an interview with Sky Germany, the former Formula 1 driver, who has just come out as gay, says that Audi miscalculated as much as 1 billion euros, equivalent to 7.45 billion kroner, when reviewing the finances of Formula 1.
However, Schumacher emphasizes at the same time that it is a rumor he has picked up. Nevertheless, the mistake must have been enough for Audi to be millimeters away from withdrawing from the sport.
And it's actually still a possibility. According to Motorsport Magazine, the project is still surrounded by doubt. Especially after the latest round of layoffs, where both the chairman of the board and the team manager quit.
Back in what is still the Sauber garage, neither of the two current drivers officially know if they will also have a seat next year. However, Zhou Guanyu believes that, like Nico Hülkenberg, he will be a factory driver from 2026 onwards.
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