F1 | Audi denies rumors: “Mattia Binotto has never visited our headquarters”. Audi denies rumors.

The rumor, originating from England and spreading rapidly, will ultimately remain just that. There has been no meeting between Audi and former Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, or at least that’s what the Germans say.

From Ingolstadt, they were quick to deny the reports that claimed the Italo-Swiss manager had visited the Neuburg factory and labeled the group’s managers as “clowns.”

An Audi spokesperson clarified the matter, saying, “We can confirm that Mattia Binotto has never visited our Formula 1 project headquarters in Neuburg,” as reported by PlanetF1.

Nevertheless, it remains plausible that the former Ferrari team principal’s name is on the list of potential candidates for the role at Audi. From Ingolstadt, confirmation has arrived of a massive hiring plan aimed at building a competent team by the 2026 Formula 1 season, the year of their debut in Formula 1.

“The project we have initiated here in Neuburg is a major transformation,” explains Adam Baker, CEO of Audi Formula Racing – “We have already benefited from the arrival of approximately 200 highly qualified individuals. Obviously, this is a significant boost to our plans,” he added.

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“In addition to them, we have over a thousand experts in the field with whom Audi and its suppliers have been collaborating for some time. Nonetheless, to ensure our competitiveness from 2026 onwards, we want to accelerate the hiring phase. It is quite an aggressive program, to the extent that over 50 engineers will join us in the near future, some even from teams that will be our rivals.”