Audi Takes Minority Stake in Swiss-Based Sauber Group

02 October 2018, France, Paris: An employee polishes the logo of an Audi vehicle on the first press day of the Paris International Motor Show. (dpa)
02 October 2018, France, Paris: An employee polishes the logo of an Audi vehicle on the first press day of the Paris International Motor Show. (dpa)
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Audi Takes Minority Stake in Swiss-Based Sauber Group

02 October 2018, France, Paris: An employee polishes the logo of an Audi vehicle on the first press day of the Paris International Motor Show. (dpa)
02 October 2018, France, Paris: An employee polishes the logo of an Audi vehicle on the first press day of the Paris International Motor Show. (dpa)

Audi has taken a minority stake in the Sauber Group whose Swiss-based Formula One team are due to become the German car manufacturer's factory outfit from 2026.

Sauber said in a statement on Monday that, as planned, the Volkswagen-owned brand took the stake this month but gave no financial details.

"This is an important milestone on the way to Audi’s entry in Formula One," it said.

Audi announced last October that it had agreed to take a stake in Sauber Group, which has been involved in Formula One since 1993 and whose team are competing this season as Alfa Romeo using Ferrari engines.

Audi will make its own F1 power unit in Neuburg, Bavaria.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.