Audi admits it will not have the most effective F1 engine in 2026

The subsequent 12 months will likely be pivotal for the Sauber crew, with the outfit bracing itself for the arrival of Method 1’s sweeping new rules and getting ready to turn out to be Audi’s manufacturing unit crew. Audi will develop the engine, which F1 lead Mattia Binotto warns received’t be “the most effective” on the grid.

For 2026, Method 1 will roll out new rules to make its vehicles extra nimble to brighten up races. New engine guidelines will improve using electrical vitality in a grand prix to assist the sequence turn out to be extra sustainable.

Alongside the brand new engine guidelines, F1 may also welcome new engine producers, with Audi and Ford – via a partnership with Pink Bull – set to hitch from 2026 and Cadillac following from 2029.  

“Making energy models – I do know this effectively as a result of I used to be an engine engineer – is far more complicated and sophisticated than one may think watching races as a spectator,” stated Binotto, who’s the pinnacle of Audi’s F1 undertaking, in an unique interview with Motorsport.com.

Binotto beforehand labored at Ferrari because it navigated the sequence’ final main engine shakeup, which got here in 2014 with the introduction of the current-generation V6 hybrid energy models.

“Now, nevertheless, we’re coming into one thing extraordinarily superior that has by no means been accomplished. Subsequently, we are going to discover a increased degree of issue, although the start line is at all times an engine. We must change the tradition of the engine and it’ll not be simple.” 

The brand new guidelines require a 50-50 cut up in energy produced by the inner combustion unit and {the electrical} parts. The complicated MGU-H, which harvests thermal vitality from the combustion engine, is being eliminated, and the motors will all be required to run on 100% sustainable fuels.  

These sweeping modifications are offering a problem for engine producers, and Binotto admits that Audi is not any completely different.  

“We’re targeted on ourselves,” he stated. “We all know that 2026 is not going to be the 12 months by which we’ll be on the prime. We can’t have the most effective energy unit, however the path that has been taken is the fitting one, I am assured.” 

The approaching rule change might additionally open up new avenues of competitors, as groups can have a say on what fuels they use of their new engines. Choices together with e-fuels and biofuels can be found, which Binotto provides signifies that “gasoline will turn out to be a differentiating issue” for groups in 2026.  

Curiously, Audi might have a leg up on this regard as its father or mother firm, the Volkswagen Group, has a historical past with e-fuels. Via its Porsche model, the corporate is investing closely in sustainable petrol options and has backed a manufacturing web site in Chile.  

This undertaking, which kicked off in 2023, might assist Audi’s efficiency subsequent season, however Binotto admits that he’s heard “rumours” that one crew might as soon as once more capitalise on the sweeping energy unit modifications: Mercedes. The German outfit is reportedly already a step above the remaining, and Binotto warns that the transfer to new motors might as soon as once more kickstart a interval of dominance for one crew.  

“In 2014 when a extra essential hybrid was launched on the ability unit, it was an engine championship originally,” he says. “As a result of Mercedes had made the distinction. It is a state of affairs that would occur once more and those that should get better will strive to take action.” 

After all, this doesn’t imply the season is shaping as much as be a Mercedes clear sweep as soon as once more. And we received’t actually understand how the brand new energy models stack up till lights exit on the first race of the 2026 season. 

One factor’s for positive, nevertheless. 2026 will mark a turning level within the historical past of the Sauber crew, which final received an F1 race in 2008 when it competed underneath one other German model: BMW.