F1 Rumor: Krack to leave Aston Martin for Sauber Audi (2nd Update)

(GMM) Now for a second time, Formula 1 team boss Mike Krack has skillfully swerved around swirling rumors that he could be preparing to leave Aston Martin.

Amid the recent management turmoil in Audi’s new works F1 project, it was rumored that new appointment Mattia Binotto may decide to focus more on the technical and day-to-day side and poach Luxembourger Krack to be the team principal.

Curiously, the Krack rumors even preceded the ousting of both Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann, with suggestions the pair were both targeting Krack while they squabbled behind the scenes.

52-year-old Krack, who once worked for another Volkswagen marque Porsche in the world endurance championship, was asked twice about his links with Audi-owned Sauber at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend.

He didn’t even deny that he recently visited the team’s Hinwil base in Switzerland, insisting he “worked there for a long time” in the BMW-owned days and still has “a lot of friends there”.

“I have here (at Aston Martin) the project of a lifetime, where you have someone investing so much to become a big team and to be part of that is an opportunity for everybody,” Krack added. “So my focus is on this project.

“’25 and ’26 is a huge challenge in front of us. That is where my thoughts are.”

And when asked about the same rumors in another interview, this time with Sky Deutschland, Krack’s denial was even more lackluster.

“Let’s keep our feet on the ground,” he responded. “It’s of course nice when you’re constantly being talked about, but you have to keep your focus on the task you have.

“That is clearly Aston Martin for now.”

The German newspaper Bild remarked: “The team boss already avoided making a firm commitment to Aston Martin several weeks ago.

“The fact is, Krack would not only be flattered by an offer, but would also seriously consider it. The proof is the lack of a clear denial.

“A denial would have put an end to the speculation faster than Formula 1 cars accelerate from 0 to 100kph,” journalist Michel Milewski concluded.

(GMM) Mike Krack has denied raging speculation that he could be the next big F1 appointment made by Audi.

Sauber’s new 100 percent team owner announced this week that it has acquired former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto – who will be both chief operating officer and chief technical officer.

Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann have been ousted, and although he appears as the nominal team boss in FIA press conferences, Alessandro Alunni Bravi is actually just ‘team representative’.

It was reported recently that although Seidl and Hoffmann were warring behind the scenes, both of them agreed that Mike Krack should be wooed as team boss.

Currently the team boss at Aston Martin, Krack has worked at Sauber before, and he’s even been part of the Audi-related Volkswagen group’s motor racing activities with the Porsche sports car team.

Bravi said at Spa-Francorchamps that Binotto will decide who the team boss is.

“I think Mattia starts on the first of August,” he said. “He will have time to understand if the current management team and the entire organizational structure is what is necessary to bring our group up to F1 speed.”

When asked in Belgium about the Audi rumors, and a whisper that he recently visited Sauber’s Hinwil headquarters, Krack played it all down.

“I think a lot of this comes about because I worked there for a very long time,” he told the Mirror. “I have a lot of friends still there and I see these friends from time to time.

“Maybe there’s an element of people putting one and one together – why is he in Switzerland? Because the godfather of my son is working there. If I have friends there, I cannot abandon my friends because of that.”

Krack insists his focus at the moment is on Aston Martin.

“I have here the project of a lifetime, where you have someone investing so much to become a big team and to be part of that is an opportunity for everybody,” said the Luxembourger. “So my focus is on this project.

“’25, and ’26 is a huge challenge in front of us. That is where my thoughts are.”

(GMM) Mike Krack is reportedly being head-hunted to leave Aston Martin and lead Audi’s new works Formula 1 project.

The rumors actually emerged just before the recent British GP, and were just the latest raft of reports suggesting all is not well behind the scenes in the wake of Volkswagen brand Audi’s takeover of the Sauber team.

Andreas Seidl, Sauber Group CEO, has been absent from many grands prix in 2024 as he focuses at Sauber’s Swiss headquarters on the transition to full works Audi status for 2026.

However, the Japanese source as-web.jp reported on the Thursday before the British GP that Seidl is at odds with Oliver Hoffman.

Hoffman, who like Seidl is German, is a long-time Audi official and board member who in March of this year was appointed ‘chief representative’ of Audi’s entire F1 project.

The report said the pair were recently arguing over the unknown identity of Nico Hulkenberg’s teammate for 2025 and beyond – with Carlos Sainz believed to have grown wary about Audi’s progress.

The outfit now seems to be struggling to attract a top driver to be paired with Hulkenberg.

“Behind the scenes, there is a constant battle between Hoffmann and Seidl,” the Japanese report claims. “According to sources, Hoffmann plans to fire Andreas Seidl and bring in Mike Krack from Aston Martin to be Audi’s F1 team principal.”

Hoffman is believed to be eyeing Seidl’s position as group CEO.

“At the same time,” the report added, “Seidl is apparently pressuring the board to fire Hoffmann and, with all the powers he has as CEO, appoint Krack as team principal as well.”

Meanwhile, Hoffman may be fending off a parallel push to oust him from Audi CEO Gernot Dollner, who regards Audi’s road car division failures as well as Sauber’s failure to score even a single point so far in 2024 as partly Hoffman’s fault.

The well-connected veteran Swiss F1 journalist Roger Benoit has also heard the rumblings about the power struggle at Audi-owned Sauber. “At Sauber,” he now writes in Blick newspaper, “the Audi tree has been burning in Hinwil for weeks.

“It’s about power,” Benoit added. “Now another former employee at Sauber is being discussed – Mike Krack.”

Krack, with vast experience in German motorsport engineering, currently leads the Aston Martin team, whose own development progress has stalled in 2024.

“The Luxembourger,” wrote Benoit, “no longer feels comfortable at Aston Martin, probably because of his boss (Lawrence) Stroll.”

Meanwhile, Italian F1 insider Leo Turrini claims that legendary Ferrari designer Rory Byrne has extended his consultancy contract with the Maranello based team through 2027.