Audi has confirmed the arrival of new names and structural changes to continue Sauber’s transformation for F1 2026. Ahead of Audi’s full takeover of the Sauber F1 team, the team has appointed some new names as more changes are made to the senior leadership structure. Dall’ara, Rueda, and Zehnder get new roles at AudiGiampaolo Dall’Ara will join the team in the new role of head of race engineering, while Ignacio ‘Inaki’ Rueda has been appointed as sporting director.
Sauber stalwart Beat Zehnder will take up a new role within the organisation, becoming the director of signature programmes and operations. Dall’ara is a well known name in motorsport, having held prominent positions with the Alfa Romeo DTM team as well as Sauber Motorsport, where he previously worked as the head of test engineering and the head of track engineering. In recent years, he has been running a consultancy company, with his appointment as head of race engineering being made to help “optimise alignment on all car performance-related topics” as the race engineering department has been integrated into Sauber’s technical group.
Rueda is a well-known name as he joins from his most recent role as Ferrari‘s sporting director. He succeeds Zehnder as sporting director, and has previously held key roles at Jordan, Renault, and Lotus. More on F1 2026👉 Explained: The 2026 engine regulations set to seriously shake up Formula 1👉 F1 engines: Which power unit manufacturer does each F1 team use?
Rueda will be responsible for overseeing all sporting activities, working closely with the recently appointed Jonathan Wheatley when the current Red Bull man swaps over to Audi next year. Rueda will manage relationships with the FIA as well as all trackside regulatory matters. Zehnder is moving on from the sporting director role.
Having worked with Sauber since the 1980s, he will move into a supervisory role as the director of signature programmes and operations in 2025. This will allow him to ensure the heritage of the Sauber team “continues to grow, uphold its core values, and lead efforts to innovate and shape its future. ”The announcements of these changes offer some assurance that Audi, contrary to recent rumours, is not set to pull the plug on its F1 entry following the Volkswagen Group’s decision to close three factories in Germany with the loss of hundreds of jobs.
The German manufacturer is set to fully takeover the Swiss-based Sauber team before a full-scale factory entry into F1 in 2026 as a team and power unit supplier. Sauber has raced in F1 since 1993, with the independent team name fading into F1 history with the takeover complete. Read Next: ‘Problem’ found with much-discussed FIA steward solution after recent criticism
