Audi showing intent to sign Carlos Sainz from Ferrari – Spanish media report. Audi showing intent to sign Carlos.

The announcement of Audi’s entry into Formula 1 from 2026 has already had an effect on the technical market, with Andreas Seidl leaving his role as Team Principal at McLaren to join Sauber.

The next step that the well-known car brand will have to take in view of its debut in the premier class of motorsport concerns the choice of the driver line-up. There has been talk of a possible signing of former Ferrari Driver Academy member Mick Schumacher for some time. The son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher is looking for a place on the Formula 1 grid and a German team would clearly be interested in the idea of signing a German driver. However, the Audi top management seems to prefer drivers with more experience and which are better prepared to perform at the top.

The latest rumors from Spain see Carlos Sainz as the favorite to have a seat at Audi in 2026. Last year the ex McLaren man signed a renewal with Scuderia Ferrari until 2024 and would be at the top of Andreas Seidl’s list for a place in Audi. In fact, Carlos Sainz proved to be a fast driver in all the teams for which he competed, managing to quickly adapt to the various single-seaters. Andreas Seidl himself, speaking of the Spaniard, had defined him as “the driver that everyone would like to have on their team”.

From this point of view, the father of the Ferrari driver could play an important role given that Carlos Sainz ‘senior’ took part in the Dakar 2022 with the team of he four interlocking rings.

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Furthermore, according to what was reported by the Swiss magazine Blick, Audi would like to expand the current team in order to be immediately competitive in 2026. The goal, again according to the Swiss site, is to fight for victory in the Grands Prix within three years after debut.