Qatar’s leading state fund will confirm the purchase of a significant minority stake in the Audi Formula One (F1) team on Friday, marking the latest major global sports investment by a sovereign investor.
Sky News has learned that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has reached an agreement to acquire around 30% of the F1 team, which currently races under the Sauber name but will be renamed Audi in time for the 2026 season.
F1 insiders said the deal would be formally announced on Friday, ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix in the small Gulf state.
The investment is expected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, they added.
The deal will highlight the extent to which wealthy Arab countries have invested significant sums in the world’s most-watched sports teams and leagues.
Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) owns Ligue 1 football club Paris Saint-Germain, while Abu Dhabi investors own a majority stake in Manchester City Football Club and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund owns the separatist golf league LIV as well as the Premier League club. Newcastle United.
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Middle Eastern funds already have a strong presence in motorsport, with Bahraini state-backed Mumtalakat holding a significant stake in the parent company of McLaren Racing, which owns the eponymous Formula 1 team.
The deal with Volkswagen-owned Audi marks Qatar’s first significant investment in elite motorsport.
Banking sources said QIA had identified F1 as a target aligned with its approach to seeking deals with long-term growth potential.
They added that Qatar was ready to support the Audi team with significant financial resources to help transform its performance.
The Kick Sauber Ferrari team is currently languishing in 10th and final place in the 2024 constructors’ championship.
They are the only team yet to have scored a point this season.
A source said the scarcity value of F1, which has seen its financial performance improve thanks to efforts to engage a younger audience, was one of the driving forces behind the QIA’s decision to invest in this sport.
This week, General Motors announced that its Cadillac brand had agreed in principle to enter F1 in 2026.
The Qatari investor is expected to play an active and engaged role within the Audi team, with opportunities to improve the sport’s sustainability in fuel and logistics, according to a source.
Audi and QIA declined to comment.