Audi's entry into Formula 1 as a works team was highly controversial - partly because the project would cost billions. Nevertheless, the German car manufacturer is taking the risk from 2026. Can it work?
29.12.2025, 21:00
dpa
Milliseconds tick by in the background. Audi boss Gernot Döllner stands in front of an invited audience in Munich on a cold November day and presents the R26 Formula 1 concept car. It is a visual foretaste of the German manufacturer's first racing car, which aims to prove itself in motorsport's premier class from the 2026 season onwards. Audi will then be team number eleven.
The digital display behind Döllner shows how relentlessly Formula 1 ticks. The days, hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds are all geared towards the first Grand Prix of the year on March 8 in Melbourne. Audi is embarking on a venture worth billions; there is no time to lose, but there is pressure at all levels. "Whenever Audi has entered a racing series, Audi has always been successful," says Döllner in front of the car painted in titanium, carbon black and Audi red.
BMW pulled the ripcord in 2009
The Audi boss only inherited the Formula 1 project from his predecessors. The current CEO and former Porsche boss Oliver Blume was a driving force, but above all Markus Duesmann. The former Audi boss still had a score to settle with the premier class of motorsport: He was head of development during BMW's Formula 1 intermezzo at the beginning of the millennium. Back then, Sauber was the partner, the Swiss racing team that Audi has now taken over completely.
When the hoped-for success did not materialize despite immense investments, BMW left the racing series in 2009 after just four years. This should not happen again with Audi. That was Duesmann's wish, it is now Döllner's, who has also put the internally highly controversial, because costly, Formula 1 commitment to the test since his enthronement in September 2023. "Now it's absolutely my project," assures Döllner, whose packed calendar will probably not allow him to be on site in Melbourne.
Another very important man will be present: Stefano Domenicali. The Italian did not miss the presentation of the R26 on site. This should show how important the newcomer is for the racing series. Domenicali himself, now Formula 1 Managing Director, had planned to join Audi after leaving Ferrari in 2014, but the Wolfsburg-based company headquarters decided against the project at the time.
Capital from Qatar
Formula 1 is one of the largest sports platforms in the world and is booming. Audi wants to take advantage of this despite the general crisis in the automotive industry. However, if it had not been for the rules revolution for the 2026 season - the biggest regulatory change in recent Grand Prix history - with new engines and the budget cap, which allows long-term financial planning, the Volkswagen subsidiary would not have entered.
"The entry into Formula 1 has never been better than in the past 30 years with this rule change," says Döllner. With the Qatari sovereign wealth fund QIA, which holds a minority stake in the racing team, he has brought in external capital.
Audi builds the engine itself
In future, the hybrid units will draw 50 percent of their power from a combustion engine and 50 percent from a battery; the fuel is 100 percent sustainable. And they build this engine themselves in Neuburg an der Donau. In contrast to Ford, which only supplies Red Bull with the engine, and Cadillac, which uses Ferrari. "For Audi, it's not about taking part, it's about winning," explains project manager Mattia Binotto.
Binotto used to be Ferrari team boss, and it was he who once dumped Sebastian Vettel on the phone. The Swiss is therefore familiar with clear announcements. "2026 and 2027 are the challenger years," dictated his superior Döllner. "From 2028 onwards, we want to be competitive, and from 2030 onwards, we want to compete for the title." Audi needs to accelerate, and fast.
Wheatley was once a mechanic for Schumacher
Drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto know this, as does Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley. The Englishman started at Benetton in 1991 as a junior mechanic and also worked on Michael Schumacher's car, among other things. He was one of the key figures behind Red Bull's world championship titles.
"I never really worry," says Wheatley about his stress levels. "It's always like this: you're given a challenge, you deal with it and you get on with it. That's the only way you survive in Formula 1. You constantly push things forward, you don't hide from challenges, you face them." A successful Audi Formula 1 project should have an impact on the entire company. "Corporate Audi can learn a lot from Formula 1," says Döllner.
Speed, speed, speed
On January 20, the Audi Revolut F1 Team, the official name of the racing team, will present the final racing livery for the 2026 season in Berlin. The first tests will take place in Barcelona just six days later.
"It's difficult to bet on the future with such a new project," says Hülkenberg. "The fact that a major brand is behind it doesn't mean that everything will work out, but the conditions are in place to be competitive as quickly as possible." On March 8, the red Formula 1 lights will go out for Audi for the first time.
