Audi is apparently looking for an opportunity to get rid of the mastermind behind the brand's Formula 1 project – the German's technical chief, Oliver Hoffmann , at .
Audi's technical director, Oliver Hoffmann, is a hunted man. Several international media – including Automobilwoche – are writing this now.
The hunt is allegedly taking place because Audi's new chief executive, Gernot Döllner, wants to get rid of Hoffmann after less than a year in the post.
Gernot Döllner apparently blames his technical director for the brand's lack of progress in general. And it once again fuels rumors about Audi's exit from Formula 1.
Rumors that already exist, because Audi is present in Formula 1 at all. When several media now again believe that Audi's Formula 1 program is in danger, it is because Oliver Hoffmann was one of the managers who got the agreement with Formula 1 and the international motorsport organization, FIA, in house.
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The rest of Audi's current management is said to be less than enthusiastic about the prospect of spending billions of euros on Sauber F1, which the brand will gradually take over towards 2026.
The mastermind behind Audi's Formula 1 plans, then managing director Markus Duesmann, was himself fired last June.
Officially, because Audi sales in the important Chinese market have failed the Germans for a long time. But there may well be another explanation behind it.
The rumor that Audi doesn't really want to compete in Formula 1 has long been denied. In fact, it flared up so much last year that the brand's board last year in October felt compelled to deny 'talk of an exit'.
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