Mattia Binotto said the Audi F1 team was left “frozen” by Andreas Seidl after the former McLaren boss became too focused on the long term.

Seidl, along with chairman Oliver Hoffmann, was sacked by the German company and replaced by Binotto in July as Audi failed to make real progress.

Mattia Binotto reveals extent of Audi F1 challenge

2025 represents the final season before Audi makes its F1 debut but Binotto said the atmosphere of the team was “frozen” when he joined in a criticism of his predecessor.

“When I joined in August, really, it was like a team that was almost frozen,” he told Autosport. “So while making sure that we had the proper plans in our journey to become a top team in the future, we really needed to boost the team for improvement and possibly already during the current season.

“How important the current season was was not only about not finishing with zero points, because finishing 10th with zero or 10th with four points does not change much.

“But it was more for us to make sure that we have defined the proper direction of development for next season as well – and being energised through the wintertime.

“Today, I can see a team that is more convinced on what’s required, what’s necessary for next season, and hopefully we can further develop the current car.”

Under Binotto, Sauber did score points in the final race of the season but will be going into 2025 as favourites to finish last once again. The Swiss said that only on track can you truly know how good you are compared to your competitors.

“When I came in there was not only zero points, but really even no plans nor developments,” he said. “And that’s what concerned me the most.

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“Everything was only focused on ’26, but that was for me somehow a problem because I think that a team needs always to fight on track.

“It’s only by fighting, competing on track, that you can understand how good you’re doing and if whatever you’re doing is going the right direction.

“You need to understand performance. You need to understand weaknesses and strengths, and you need as well to address them. And that’s the real know-how of a team.”

Sauber have a new look lineup this year with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto replacing Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

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