Audi workforce principal Jonathan Wheatley, who joined from his former place of sporting director at Crimson Bull final March, mentioned on the workforce’s launch this 12 months: “We’re not right here to fiddle. It is an bold mission. We’re humble. We all know the place we’re ranging from and we all know the place we need to go.
“We need to make Audi essentially the most profitable F1 workforce in historical past. There are milestones on that journey and we’re beginning it immediately.”
No stress, then.
Audi gained the Le Mans 24 Hours 13 instances in 18 years from 1999 to 2016. And in rallying they had been well-known for introducing four-wheel drive with the enduring Quattro within the early Nineteen Eighties.
They won’t have taken half in F1 earlier than, however they did compete in its forerunner, the European grand prix championship, within the Nineteen Thirties.
In a battle with arch-rivals Mercedes, Auto Union gained the title with the nice Bernd Rosemeyer in 1936, gained 5 races in opposition to Mercedes’ seven in 1937, whereas the legendary Tazio Nuvolari gained races for them in 1938 and 1939 earlier than the Second World Struggle introduced racing to a halt.
Audi’s entry this 12 months rekindles that outdated rivalry with Mercedes, and battle traces have already been drawn in a pre-season row over the foundations governing the engines’ compression ratio. Audi are mentioned to have been prime amongst these pushing for a rule change due to a worry Mercedes had discovered a approach of exploiting a loophole to their benefit.
Rivals on observe with Mercedes, although, Audi are unlikely to be for some time.
Whereas Mercedes begin the season as championship favourites, Audi have quite a lot of work to do to rework Sauber right into a successful proposition.
Following the announcement of Audi’s entry in August 2022, the primary steps of the programme didn’t augur effectively. Audi didn’t make investments wherever close to sufficient cash wherever close to quickly sufficient.
Sauber made no progress via 2023 and into the next 12 months. With the clock ticking on its entry in 2026, Audi axed chief govt officer Andreas Seidl, who had left his earlier position as workforce principal of McLaren to hitch them, in mid-2024.
He was changed with a twin administration workforce of former Ferrari workforce principal Mattia Binotto, who was tasked with operating the factories – Hinwil in Switzerland for Sauber, and Neuberg in Germany for the engine programme – and Wheatley, in cost on the observe.
Even then, the administration adjustments weren’t completed. Binotto had initially joined as chief working and technical officer. Lower than a 12 months later, he was made head of the Audi F1 project, and chief govt officer Adam Baker left the corporate.
The appointment of Binotto and Wheatley had a comparatively fast influence, as Sauber lastly started to maneuver ahead in 2025.
Having been marooned on the again, Sauber turned extra respectable performers, and their veteran German driver Nico Hulkenberg even finally scored a podium after 16 years of making an attempt in final 12 months’s British Grand Prix.
This 12 months, the driving force line-up of Hulkenberg and Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, who’s heading into his second season, continues, and the brand new Audi engine makes its debut.
Thus far the workforce have made a promising begin.
They ran their automotive early in January, the primary workforce to take action constructed to this 12 months’s new guidelines, and put a primary aerodynamic improve on it within the closing pre-season take a look at in Bahrain final week.
Tempo-wise, the idea is that Audi are within the midfield combine with Haas, Alpine and Racing Bulls, and forward of Williams. A stable effort to this point, though Hulkenberg shouldn’t be getting carried away.
“It is simply hypothesis proper now nonetheless,” the German mentioned final week. “We actually do not know till Melbourne and even a number of races in, as a result of I really feel for the time being it may be fairly observe depending on how your package deal feels on completely different circuits.
“So we’ll have to attend and see till all people actually pulls their pants down in qualifying and we’ll discover out. Early days. I hope we’re aggressive someplace within the midfield proper now.
“However, yeah, the workforce’s been working arduous over the winter, pushing all of the areas, doing the power-unit facet for the primary time. It has been busy and a problem, and I feel we’re OK. However there’s nonetheless quite a lot of work and quite a lot of room for enchancment on that facet and loads to return.”
