Has Audi Really Just Bought Out McLaren? - [ Rumour Round-Up ]

Hey everyone, welcome to another edition of “Rumour Round-Up” and as with the others, all the stories contained within this are to be taken with a grain of salt and haven’t been officially substantiated but are things that are being talked about in the world of F1 that may be interesting, could turn out to be true, or simply plain wrong. Without further delay, here is Rumour Roundup…

A lot of rumors have been circulating for quite some time regarding new entrants in Formula 1 and one name that keeps popping up is Audi. They were allegedly looking to enter F1 by buying an existing team and the latest rumors suggest that they may have already bought out McLaren

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0:00 - Has Audi Really Bought Out McLaren?
1:55 - Rapid Rumours

I'm your host Dillon Shelley and first up on Rumour Roundup:

Has Audi Really Bought Out McLaren?

A report was earlier published by Autocar UK in which they suggested that their source had confirmed that Audi had taken over McLaren after a buyout

It was suggested that McLaren allegedly found themselves in a precarious condition from a financial standpoint despite getting an influx of capital this year

If this rumor was to be true then Audi and Volkswagen, which is the parent company that owns Audi, would have had a direct point of entry into F1

This rumor further gained traction when an Audi spokesperson responded to the report by Autocar UK

“As part of our strategic considerations, we are constantly looking at various cooperation ideas” [Reuters]

Soon after though, McLaren Group released the following statement

“McLaren Group is aware of a news media report stating it has been sold to Audi. This is wholly inaccurate and McLaren is seeking to have the story removed”

“McLaren’s technology strategy has always involved ongoing discussions and collaboration with relevant partners and suppliers, including other carmakers, however, there has been no change in the ownership structure of the McLaren Group”

Following this statement, the original report by Autocar UK has been heavily modified and now there is no mention of the source who apparently broke this story to them in the first place.us .


Rapid Rumors

Guanyu Zhou has allegedly already signed with Alfa Romeo to replace Antonio Giovinazzi for next season [Formula News Live]

Apparently, Alfa Romeo car dealerships in China, the country from where Zhou hails, have already posted congratulatory messages for him

Supposedly, the only reason why Giovinazzi has been at Alfa Romeo for so long is because of Ferrari’s influence on the matter which will cease to exist next year [Beyond The Flag]

Alpine’s race director Davide Brivio is supposedly unhappy with his role in the team and he is looking to go back to MotoGP [Autohebdo]

This rumor was given further credence when Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi confirmed in an official press conference that a major restructuring of the team was on the cards

Current Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer was reportedly the front-runner to spearhead Alpine’s F1 project

Otmar, however stated that “I too read those rumors a couple of days ago and I was as surprised as anybody else” [F1]

“I’ve been at the team for 12 years, I’ve no intention of leaving. I love this team, most of the senior managers and the senior leadership team was recruited and put there by myself and I have no intentions of leaving them”, he expanded

“I learned a long time ago that predicting the future is an impossibility, and if I could do that I’d be in Vegas now”, he stated when quizzed further

It was rumored that former F1 driver and current IndyCar team owner Michael Andretti’s attempt at buying Alfa Romeo’s F1 team fell through because he wasn’t ready to pay the price that was demanded [Autoweek]

Andretti clarified that he would “like to put an end to some of these rumors that the deal fell through because of financial reasons. That couldn't be further from the truth. It had nothing to do with that” [IndyCar Team Press Conference]

"It basically came down to control issues in the final hours of the negotiations. That's what killed the deal”, he elaborated

"I've always said if the deal is not right, we're not going to do it, and in the end it wasn't right. So we continue to look for other opportunities”, he summed up


Is buying an existing F1 team the best approach for Audi to enter the sport?

ReallyBoughtMcLaren?