Audi's New F1 Venture to Be 'Very Bumpy,' Binotto Warns
Audi's new Formula 1 team is set to face a challenging start to its debut season despite ambitious targets set by the German brand's bosses.
Mattia Binotto, Audi's chief, has warned that the new team will experience a "very bumpy" debut campaign, citing the need for significant improvements in all areas. The former Ferrari team principal believes that five years is the realistic timeframe for the team to reach its full potential.
"We set as an objective because there is much that we need to build," Binotto stated. "It's not only the car on track, it's the final product of a big organisation. Infrastructure, tools, methodology, the organisation, we need to ramp up skills – there is still much that's required."
Binotto emphasizes that Audi needs to be realistic about its expectations for the upcoming season. "We're competing against strong competitors, settled-down organisations and no doubt who were stronger before will stay stronger as well in 2026," he said.
Team principal Jonathan Wheatley also expressed caution regarding immediate expectations. However, he emphasized that the team's primary objective is to become a finely honed works F1 team by the time it's ready to deliver a championship.
Audi faces several challenges, including manufacturing its own engine and adjusting to new regulations. The team will participate in three separate testing events before the start of the 2026 season: one behind-closed-doors event in Barcelona from January 26-30, followed by two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20.
The first F1 race is scheduled for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from March 6-8.
Audi's new Formula 1 team is set to face a challenging start to its debut season despite ambitious targets set by the German brand's bosses.
Mattia Binotto, Audi's chief, has warned that the new team will experience a "very bumpy" debut campaign, citing the need for significant improvements in all areas. The former Ferrari team principal believes that five years is the realistic timeframe for the team to reach its full potential.
"We set as an objective because there is much that we need to build," Binotto stated. "It's not only the car on track, it's the final product of a big organisation. Infrastructure, tools, methodology, the organisation, we need to ramp up skills – there is still much that's required."
Binotto emphasizes that Audi needs to be realistic about its expectations for the upcoming season. "We're competing against strong competitors, settled-down organisations and no doubt who were stronger before will stay stronger as well in 2026," he said.
Team principal Jonathan Wheatley also expressed caution regarding immediate expectations. However, he emphasized that the team's primary objective is to become a finely honed works F1 team by the time it's ready to deliver a championship.
Audi faces several challenges, including manufacturing its own engine and adjusting to new regulations. The team will participate in three separate testing events before the start of the 2026 season: one behind-closed-doors event in Barcelona from January 26-30, followed by two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20.
The first F1 race is scheduled for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from March 6-8.
i mean, binotto's warning us that it's gonna be "very bumpy"... like, don't expect them to just magically become a top team after one season 
five years is a realistic goal, but still, that's a looong time to build up from scratch. and it's not just the car itself, they gotta get their whole org in shape too 
i'm curious about how they're gonna do with manufacturing their own engine... and new regulations can be tough to adjust to 
anyway, fingers crossed for audi, but let's not set our expectations too high 
Also, manufacturing their own engine? Good luck with that! It's not like they're gonna be the first team to mess this up... 
. Those teams have been around for decades, they know what works and what doesn't. Audi's just gonna have to grind it out and hope they don't get too many crashes 
.
. They're gonna need some serious luck on their side if they wanna make a splash in the 2026 season 
.
Audi's new F1 team is gonna have a bumpy ride 
. And let's be real, Ferrari isn't going down without a fight 
. Audi will have to get used to new regulations and engine manufacturing 
. I'm rooting for them though, it'll be cool to see them grow 
. Maybe 5 years is the realistic timeframe 
... we'll just have to wait and see 
.
Mattia Binotto is right, we need to lower our expectations and give ourselves time to build 
... it's gonna be a bumpy ride 
. They gotta manufacture their own engine? That's crazy talk 
! And the regulations change every year - I feel for 'em 
. They're gonna have to ramp up their skills and get their infrastructure on point ASAP 
. New engine, new regulations... it's like they're starting from zero 
. Good luck with the testing events behind closed doors... hope they can get some decent feedback 
what's crazy is that they're trying to make their own engine from scratch, that's like starting a whole new company within a company 
but hey, audi's got some solid tech resources at their disposal, maybe they'll surprise us... or maybe not 