Sauber committed to Alfa Romeo despite Audi rumours

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Frédéric Vasseur insists that Sauber remains as committed as ever to its current partnership with Alfa Romeo, despite growing rumours that it's in Audi's sights as a possible takeover prospect.

Sauber has been in charge of Alfa Romeo's F1 project since 2018. Prior to that the squad - originally founded by Peter Sauber in 1970 - had competed in F1 under its own name since 1993.

The current deal with the Italian manufacturer is organised on a rolling one-year basis and is expected to continue in 2023. However the longer term picture is complicated by the anticipated arrival of Audi in F1.

Read also: Sauber watching gap with top teams, not mid-field rivals

Parent company Volkswagen is expected to be on the verge of formally announcing its involvement in the sport, with Porsche likely to take a 50 per cent ownership and engine supply deal with Red Bull.

But Audi's role is still to be confirmed, with the company believed to have looked into possible buy-outs of teams including McLaren, Williams and Aston Martin. But now it's Sauber that looks to be on the top of the shopping list.

Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato stated recently that he would have to be "blind" to the rumours swirling around the paddock about Sauber's future but insisted he remained relaxed about the situation.

And now Vasseur has also stated that whatever happens in the future with Audi, Sauber remained committed to producing the very best performance with the Alfa Romeo team in the meantime.

"I am more than happy with the partnership with them," he told Motorsport.com this month. "They are not just a sponsor, we are partners and developing projects together.

"The relationship between Alfa Romeo [and parent company] Stellantis at one end and the team at the other end is very, very good.

"Perhaps part of the good results today is because we are all working together, and they are helping us also to find other partners. I really enjoy the partnership."

Vasseur was reluctant to be drawn about the longer term picture and the possibility that Sauber might be taken over by Audi, adding that he was "struggling to speak about '23!"

"First I think they need to clarify the situation on the engine," the 54-year-old Frenchman pointed out. "As soon as they'll have confirmation of their commitment on the engine, it's probably time to discuss.

"Sure they'll discuss with everybody in the paddock," he acknowledged. "They'll do their job.

"But the most important thing is we have the project with Alfa Romeo today," he insisted. "I don't want to mix everything, I want to give the best to Alfa Romeo."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.