Former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto will lead Audi’s Formula One entry with current bosses Oliver Hoffmann and Andreas Seidl departing, the German manufacturer said on Tuesday.

Binotto will join on Aug. 1 as chief operating and chief technical officer at Sauber Motorsport, the Swiss-based entity that currently competes as Sauber and will become the factory Audi team in 2026.

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Audi said Binotto would have “responsibility and accountability for the operative management and sporting success of the racing team.”

“I am delighted that we have been able to recruit Mattia Binotto for our ambitious Formula One project,” Audi AG CEO Gernot Döllner said.

“With his extensive experience of more than 25 years in Formula One, he will undoubtedly be able to make a decisive contribution for Audi.”

His appointment represents a big change of direction just a year and a half before Audi officially becomes an entity on the grid.

Seidl left McLaren in late 2022 to head up the project but will not see it through to its arrival in the paddock.

Seidl helped sign Nico Hulkenberg from Haas for 2025, although the team has yet to secure a second driver for next year and beyond.

Audi has targeted outgoing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who worked under Binotto in 2021 and 2022, in the other role but he is yet to decide his next step.

Binotto left Ferrari at the end of 2022 after four seasons in charge, although his career with the Italian team stretched back to 1995.