In the background, Sauber is being expanded and rebuilt under the guidance of CEO Andreas Seidl as the Audi era approaches. Initial mechanical work is already underway on the 2026 project, although teams aren’t allowed to conduct aero research via CFD or their wind tunnels until January.
Sauber and Audi have taken a close interest in the development of the 2026 F1 regulations, which were released in draft form before the Canadian GP and discussed in a meeting of team bosses over the race weekend.
They are still far from being finalised, although mainly it’s about details.
“The situation is quite clear for all of us,” says Alunni Bravi.
“Because we have been working all together with the FIA and F1 in the technical advisory committee for more than one year and a half on the new 2026 regulations.
“We needed more details and to better the final set of regulations. There is a lot of work to do on the new car.
“On the aerodynamic side, we know that there is a ban until January 1 2025, but for the rest of the car, the same process is already ongoing in all the teams.
“So we need more details. And I think that the regulations that have been released provide these additional details and information.
“We know that there are some areas where we can make some tweaks and adjustments in order to have, from one side, less prescriptive rules, and from the other, giving a bit more freedom to the teams because there are areas where you can have some different ideas.
“And the teams, of course, would like to have more freedom in certain areas.
“But it’s always a balance. The approach from all the stakeholders is very constructive. We are discussing altogether.”
Alunni Bravi says that in essence, the teams are all on the same page:
“It’s clear the target that you want to reach is to have a car with more traceability and, at the same time, to try to keep the current level of performance.
“We know that this is an ambitious target, but we know also that 2026 will be the start of the new technical period.
“And all the teams are a bit behind in terms of performance because it’s the start of the new regulation. But then everybody will be able to improve the cars.
“What is important now is there are certain points where we all agreed to work together – the definition of the minimum weight, of course, and downforce level.
“But these are adjustments and tweaks to the current regulations, so there is room to apply some changes before the end of June, before the World Motor Sport Council and afterwards.
“It is a constructive approach. It’s clear that all the principles have been agreed. Most of the regulations have been discussed and agreed during the last one year and half.
“Now is I would say it’s the last mile. And we will keep working together to find the right balance. But I think there are not many differences between the teams.
“There are different sensibilities in certain areas. What we want is to keep this approach all together and to work in a constructive manner because this is in the interest of every stakeholder.”
Weight is a key point of discussion, with some saying that a 30kgs reduction is too much:
“It is one of these elements that is a really important performance differentiator. We will have a smaller car, a so-called nimble car, and we need to try to work on all the areas to improve the performance, and then it will be a discussion based on data.
“It’s not gut feelings that we have. We will analyse all the data and the deltas between the current parts and what will be the 2026 spec. And based on all this data, we will agree all together with the FIA and the others about the weight.
“The target is there to have a reduction of weight to improve the performance. But we will work on the data that we have, including the latest data about the power units, and not just the car.”
Like its rivals Audi isn’t keen to see any late changes to the power unit rules given the work that has already been done, despite suggestions from the FIA that there might be some compromises regarding the way they are operated.
“I think that the power unit regulations have been already fixed almost two years ago,” says Alunni Bravi.
“All the manufacturers started working in 2022 with a full set of regulations. We are always open to have some tweaks, if this can help. But I think that the main elements are there. And, of course, now we are really close to the start of the 2026 season.
“You cannot change the rules at the very last moment. What we were discussing is maybe the application of, for instance, the manual override mode and some other things. But this is not an impact, really, on the rules.
He adds: “As a category, F1 needs to always be at the pinnacle of motorsport but also be relevant for the automotive industry.
“I think that the regulations go in this direction, and we will be the very best F1 again, the very best testing bench for the automotive industry to then introduce the know-how and the technology development for road cars.
“We are all agreed about this, and I think that the value of these new rules is confirmed by the fact that we will have six PU manufacturers in 2026, including Audi. This is a success, and it shows that we are going to the right direction.”
The 2026 season is still a long way off, and in the interim Sauber has to make short-term progress and start scoring points.
The fact that the likes of McLaren and Mercedes have shown that it is possible to successfully develop their cars into podium and win contenders does at least provide some inspiration.
“It’s very good for F1 to have unpredictable races and more teams that have the opportunity to fight for podiums and wins,” says Alunni Bravi.
“We have seen that Mercedes recovered the gap in the beginning of the season, and now they are a race contender together with Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren. I think this is a very exciting fight that shows that the championship only ends when the last chequered flag is displayed.
“And this is also important for us. There is a possibility to recover. Nothing is lost. And if we work well, we can also come back to the fight for the points.”
