Inaki Rueda joins Sauber as sporting director, reunites with Mattia Binotto

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Sauber welcomes former Ferrari strategy chief Inaki Rueda as sporting director.

In a strategic move ahead of the 2026 transition to becoming the Audi factory team, Sauber has announced the appointment of former Ferrari strategy head Inaki Rueda as their new Sporting Director. The announcement was made on Wednesday, just before the Brazilian Grand Prix at São Paulo's Interlagos circuit.

Rueda's joining reunites him with his former Ferrari boss, Mattia Binotto, who took on the roles of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer at Sauber back in August. Rueda's new responsibilities include overseeing all sporting activities and managing the team's relationship with the FIA, as well as handling all regulatory matters trackside.

The Swiss-based team confirmed that Rueda will be taking over from Beat Zehnder, a long-standing pillar of Sauber since the 1980s, who will now move to the heritage side of the company.

"In his new position, Rueda will be responsible for overseeing all sporting activities, managing the relationship with the FIA and all regulations matters trackside," the team's statement clarified.

In addition, Giampaolo Dall'Ara, former head of track engineering, is set to return to Sauber as head of race engineering after a period spent running his own consultancy.

The future leadership structure of Sauber continues to evolve, with Jonathan Wheatley from Red Bull set to join as principal in the coming year. This series of high-profile appointments signals Sauber's commitment to strengthening their team ahead of their upcoming transformation to the Audi factory outfit in 2026.

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