F1 News: Audi Announces Major Signing Of Former Ferrari Director

Audi F1 has hired ex-Ferrari sporting director Inaki Rueda.

Audi F1 / Audi

Audi F1 has confirmed the major signing of former Ferrari sporting director Inaki Rueda ahead of its takeover of Sauber in 2026.

According to the announcement from the Swiss-based team:

"Ignacio "Inaki" Rueda will join the team as Sporting Director, taking over the role from Beat Zehnder, who transitions to a new position as Director of Signature Programs and Operations starting from 2025."

Rueda's distinguished career includes roles at Jordan Grand Prix, Renault, and the Lotus F1 team before his significant tenure at Scuderia Ferrari. Rueda held the position of Chief Strategist at the Lotus F1 team from 2011 to 2014 before he moved to Ferrari as Head of Race Strategy. The Maranello-based squad promoted Rueda in January 2021 to Sporting Director before he was replaced by Ravin Jain in February 2023.

Rueda now transitions to Sauber, where he " will be responsible for overseeing all sporting activities, managing the relationship with FIA and all regulations matters trackside."

Complementing Rueda's appointment, Giampaolo Dall’Ara assumes the new role of Head of Race Engineering. He will be overseeing race engineering operations at Hinwil and racetracks, with an emphasis on optimizing car performance and integrating the Race Engineering department into the broader Technical Group.

Dall’Ara brings a wealth of motorsport experience, having held roles within the Alfa Romeo DTM team and various engineering divisions at Sauber Motorsport. His expertise, coupled with his experience running his own consultancy firm since 2016, makes him a strong asset in aligning Sauber’s technical capabilities with Audi’s high-performance standards.

Beat Zehnder will also transition to the role of Director of Signature Programs and Operations in 2025. Having been with Sauber since the 1980s, Zehnder’s impact has been significant, especially in the team’s representation with the FIA. In his new role, he will preserve the heritage of Sauber Motorsport and lead innovation efforts. His supervisory role during the 2025 transition will be key in maintaining continuity within the team’s structure and ethos as Audi takes on a more substantial role.

Although the team has confirmed multiple new signings, it is yet to finalise it's driver line-up for 2025. The soon-to-be German team signed a contract with current Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg earlier this year. However, the team is in no rush to confirm who will drive alongside him. Current Sauber drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in the running along with Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher, Williams' Franco Colapinto, and F2 driver Gabriel Bortoleto.

Whilst speaking to the media ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, Bottas commented on his current contractual situation:

“The thing with this sport is you never know what’s happening in the background. There’s always lots of politics involved.

“We’re talking about a big corporate company, a big business as well. There’s many reasons behind decisions such as driver lineup. All I can do now is trust Mattia and his words and then we’ll see.”