Said, done: it took longer than expected, but in the morning the official debut of Audi in Formula 1 arrived, scheduled for 2026. It certainly cannot be said that this step came as a surprise: the Ingolstadt company evaluated for months entry into the Circus and accelerated in the last few days, when Formula 1 formalized the rules for the 2026 power unit.
It was August 16 when the World Motor Sport Council put pen to paper for the new engines. Engines that Audi wanted simpler, less expensive, more oriented towards electrification and with sustainable fuels, issues on which Formula 1 and the motorists met the Germans. Which, for their part, they have been working on the power units since Marchas he pointed out Auto Motor und Sport: a team of 120 technicians, which will have almost doubled by the end of the year, but is expected to reach 300 units. All will be under the leadership of CEO Adam Baker (20 years in motorsport, including Cosworth, BMW and FIA) and Engine Development Technical Director Stefan Dreyer.
Therefore, today’s was not Audi’s first step, not even at an operational level: the management is there, a good part of the staff too, the engineers have already been at work for months. However, the partner with which to make his debut in Formula 1 is missing: for the moment, Audi has announced his participation simply as an engineer, but at the press conference he specified how by the end of the year he will announce the team to which he will supply the engines. Barring sensational twists, it should be there Sauber, which would take over for 75%, leaving the remaining 25% in the hands of the current owner Finn Rausing. However, there is much more time to announce this step: summer and autumn will also be full of waiting, not only for what Audi will do but also for the formalization of the marriage between Porsche and Red Bull.
#Audi #step #FormulaPassion.it