Sauber have confirmed they have signed another key member to further strengthen their personnel ahead of their rebranding as Audi in 2026.
Just days after announcing that Stefano Sordo would take up the role of performance director, Sauber have confirmed the deal with a new chief commercial officer, who will take up the role from early June.
Sauber announces new deal ahead of Audi rebrand
As the German car manufacturer Audi prepares to enter F1 in 2026, it is inching ever closer to a full acquisition of Sauber Motorsport and its expansion in Hinwil is also progressing smoothly.
The latest big signing is Stefano Battiston, who has started as Sauber's chief commercial officer, taking up the role on June 1 and reporting directly to CEO Andreas Seidl.
His role will see him lead the team's new commercial strategy as it evolves into Audi.
Battiston will oversee all commercial aspects of his time at Sauber and Audi, including marketing, partnerships, brand and content, merchandising and business development.
Battiston was previously head of marketing at Alfa Romeo's Hinwil and is now commercial director of the Audi F1 project, where he was appointed from a position where he led the initial development of the commercial organisation.
He previously worked at Maserati and IWC Schaffhausen.
“Stefano's appointment is another important step in our transition to become the Audi F1 Factory Team from 2026,” said Sauber and Audi F1 Team CEO Andreas Seidl.
“This is a solid foundation on which we continue to build as we prepare for our entry into Formula 1 with Audi, ensuring that we are commercially ahead of our competitors. I have worked with Stefano since I joined the Sauber Group. We have ambitious goals together and having Stefano in the program brings us one step closer to achieving them. Races are played on and off the track – and we want to win both.”
The confirmation comes just days after Sauber announced it had signed former Red Bull and McLaren engineer Stefano Sordo as performance director.
Sordo, most recently technical director at IndyCar's RLL Racing, will report to chief technical officer James Key. A veteran of F1 with Red Bull and McLaren, Sordo played a key role in Red Bull's dominance alongside Sebastian Vettel from 2010 to 2013.
Latest Audi F1 news
👉 Audi F1 acquires big new member, F1 2026 plans accelerate
👉 Audi driver 'target' update as Carlos Sainz speculation continues
Audi announces full acquisition of Sauber
Two months ago, Audi revealed that its partnership plans with Sauber had evolved. Under the original plan, Audi AG was to buy a minority stake in 2023 and increase its ownership to 75 percent by the end of 2025.
However, following an agreement with current majority shareholder Finn Rausing's holding company Islero Investments, Audi intends to acquire the Sauber Group and Sauber Holding AG outright.
Audi and Volkswagen's supervisory board members approved the changes, but Oliver Hoffmann will step down from Audi's board of directors.
The reason is that he will become the general manager of the Audi F1 team and will be responsible for running Audi's entry into F1.
Hoffmann will be responsible for all aspects of Audi's participation in Formula 1, including Sauber's funding, Audi's power unit development and the leadership and direction of the F1 team.
Audi has already announced one of its drivers for the 2026 season, with current Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg moving to Sauber in 2025. It remains to be seen who the team's second driver will be, but current Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz is the leading candidate.
Read next: Red Bull issues 'big' warning to rivals following 'performance restriction' claims
