Audi’s engine company CEO Adam Baker is leaving the project, while Mattia Binotto will see his responsibilities increase.

The Audi F1 team is tweaking its management structure again, with former chief executive Adam Baker departing the project after four years with the German marque.

Audi engine chief leaves the project

Australia’s Adam Baker was appointed as CEO of Audi Formula Racing GmbH, the power unit division of the Audi F1 project, at the inception of the F1 team in 2022.

Under Baker, Audi has carried out all its power unit research and development in preparation for the team’s entry into Formula 1 in 2026.

But, just months away from the team hitting the track for the first time as the Sauber team evolves into the German manufacturer’s factory team following a complete takeover of Sauber Motorsport, Baker has departed the project by “mutual agreement”, according to Audi.

In his place, Audi has appointed Christian Foyer to take over the power unit project in the role of chief operating officer. Foyer has also joined the management board of Audi Formula Racing GmbH, with Baker’s position as CEO having been dissolved. It’s understood Audi was keen to find a fresh perspective with Foyer brought in to focus on the organisational structures to quickly get them up to speed ahead of the team’s arrival in F1.

This change, according to Audi, will streamline its hierarchy, with Stefan Dreyer continuing to head up the development of the power unit as chief technical officer at Audi’s F1 power unit base in Neuburg. He will also serve as spokesperson for the power unit division.

The reasoning for the changes is that, in its quest to find the best working setup for a factory team, Audi wished to centralise responsibilities across the board to one person, that person being Mattia Binotto, in order to streamline the collaboration between Neuburg and Hinwil.

Binotto, who took on the role of chief operation officer and chief technical officer at Sauber Motorsport last July, thus now oversees the entirety of the Audi F1 project, with Jonathan Wheatley – who joined Sauber in April – settled into his role as team boss on the race operations front.

The appointments of Binotto and Wheatley replaced previous senior roles as Oliver Hoffmann – formerly chairman of the board of directors at all Sauber companies – as well as Andreas Seidl – formerly CEO of Sauber Motorsport and Sauber Technologies – left the project.

In 2023, Markus Duesman – formerly chairman of the board at Audi – departed the company and was succeeded by Gernot Dollner, who thanked the departing Baker in a press statement.

“We would like to thank Adam Baker for his commitment over the past years,” Dollner said.

“He played a decisive role in shaping the overall strategic concept for the entry of Audi into Formula 1 and got the development of the power unit in Neuburg off the ground.

“With Christian Foyer, we are now bringing a proven expert in process structures in F1 powertrain development into the project. His experience will help ensure the synergistic cooperation and necessary speed on the journey we have embarked upon regarding the debut.”

Baker, a veteran of the former BMW Sauber team, had previously been involved in BMW’s F1 powertrains between 2007 and ’09 following a background with Cosworth. At BMW, he worked closely with Duesman and Seidl – all of whom have since split with Audi’s power unit project.

Remaining with BMW following the German manufacturer’s exit from F1, he oversaw BMW’s world superbike powertrain development before heading up BMW’s race programmes across Formula E, WEC, DTM & GT, before moving to the FIA in 2018.

Who is Christian Foyer?

Starting his role with Audi’s power unit division on May 1st, Foyer’s responsibilities will focus on the operations side of the programme through his role as chief operating officer.

The 48-year-old has previous experience with Lotus Cars, where he headed up powertrain operations, as well as being plant manager for Mahle Powertrain in the UK.

According to his social media profile, he “started to study Lean Manufacturing and Quality Control as part of the highly reputable Mercedes-Benz Lean Manufacturing Expert Group, including a 12 months lean expert training program at various Mercedes-Benz plants in Europe and a training period in Japan.

“Over 17 years of experience leading operational improvement programs in automotive, rail, consumer electronics, construction, processing industry, food, and Formula 1.”

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