Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is taking Audi’s entry into Formula 1 seriously ahead of its official debut in 2026.

Over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, the German marque announced it would enter the sport as a power unit manufacturer once the new regulations came into effect.

It noted at the time that an announcement on how it would enter as a competitor and subsequently confirmed as much in the lead up to the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Audi will become a ‘strategic partner’ of Sauber for 2026 with the Swiss-based operation set to become the car maker’s factory team.

“To begin, I would never underestimate the Volkswagen Group, whether it’s Audi or Porsche, when they enter into such a project,” Wolff began.

“They have the financial strength, the knowhow, the racing expertise to come up with a great project.

“And I think the marriage with Sauber is something that fits: it’s in Switzerland, it’s German-Switzerland, it operates under the same legislative environment.

“I have them absolutely on the radar – absolutely part of the teams that can be successful in 2026.”

Sauber operates the Alfa Romeo squad and is known to be one of the handful of operations which works below Formula 1’s cost cap.

Alfa Romeo is a title sponsor, which will part ways with the team at the end of the season.

It will remain powered by Ferrari until the end of 2025, at which point it will switch to Audi.

Wolff is a one-third shareholder in the Mercedes Formula 1 team, with the other two-thirds split equally between Ineos and Daimler AG.