The announcement of General Motors (who want to have their own engines by 2028) confirms the arrival of another engine manufacturer to F1. Audi are the other big team preparing for their debut – although the German brand has its concerns ahead of 2026.
Audi working to bridge the gap to established names
It is no secret that Audi are joining Formula 1 with ambitions of fighting at the front. This is only logical, considering their immense financial resources.
With that said, this does not guarantee success. Unlike GM/Cadillac, who plan to enter in 2026/27 with Ferrari engines, Audi will run their own engines from day 1.
However, there are significant obstacles they will face when introducing their own power unit.
Perhaps most importantly, Mattia Binotto’s team need to ramp up their recruitment and hire more personnel.
As a team developing engines for fresh regulations in 2026, signing engineers with sufficient and expertise is essential for their success.
Binotto anticipates an early deficit
Speaking to the media, Audi’s CTO Mattia Binotto has admitted Audi will likely be on the backfoot:
“I think here as well, it’s a learning process,” he explained earlier this year.
“We are competing with other organisations where manufacturers are settled down. Certainly, all the experience is pretty important and valid.
“So while I think the organisation there [at Audi] is great, the facilities are great, the programs are going ahead – still there is a learning curve. Which needs to be done.
“So I’m expecting initially to have a gap to recover.”
Audi ready to capitalise on engineers becoming available
Aside from their personnel and infrastructure gap, Audi were also a little tentative before fully committing to F1 in 2026.
This means they started slightly later than other manufacturers, which is something else they must make up for.
Luckily for Audi, Alpine have inadvertently offered them a boost.
By deciding to abandon the Renault engine programme and switch to Mercedes power, there are several engineers at the French outfit available to be signed.
Given that Renault’s staff were working on the 2026 engines until recently, they will have plenty of expertise.
In this context, Audi have a chance to sign key personnel and strengthen their engine department.
To be clear, their task for the 2026 regulations is still a difficult one.
The question is whether Audi are capable of avoiding the slow start that many new manufacturers encounter.
