“I’m absolutely not scared,” Jean-Philippe Imparato unstressed about the proposition of Audi acquiring Alfa Romeo

“I’m absolutely not scared,” Jean-Philippe Imparato unstressed about the proposition of Audi acquiring Alfa Romeo

Jean-Philippe Imparato

The Volkswagen Group Special Advisory Board approved plans for Audi and sister brand Porsche to join the grid, and Audi is expected to make its F1 debut in 2026.

While Porsche and Red Bull are about to form a new works relationship, Audi’s future F1 ambitions are less apparent as the company weighs its choices.

Although McLaren, Williams, and Aston Martin have all been mentioned as potential partners or acquisition targets for the Ingolstadt brand, Sauber, which runs the Alfa Romeo team, has suddenly emerged as the most likely candidate to join the Audi F1 team.

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When it became the title partner of Sauber in 2019 as part of a partnership that has since been renewed annually, Romeo made a comeback in Formula One. However, Alfa Romeo does not own a portion of the team, which leaves room for the brand’s participation. Romeo’s CEO stated in an interview that the team is not carefree about the deal with them, and even if they collaborate, they would not change the business model of Alfa, rest everything is fine. 

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Alfa Romeo believe it is an ‘open world’ for the team, and deal from Audi is not stressful

Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo

The CEO stated that the brand is historical, and it is an open world for them, and so there is no stress with the deal. “We invented with our colleagues from Sauber a new business model where there is a dual governance between us,” Imparato said, as Motorsport quoted him. “We know perfectly, we say that Frederic [Vasseur] is managing the team since the beginning, and we did not derail, even if we lived some difficult times, let’s say: we did not move, because we don’t change strategy every morning.”

The team does not invest as much in the team as other manufacturers on the grid, despite having complete naming rights and connections between the F1 business and its road cars.

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