The Audi R26 mads its long-awaited debut in Barcelona last week, setting the team’s first laps as an engine manufacturer. This milestone, though significant, marks the beginning of a demanding F1 journey for the German squad.
Although nothing definitive can emerge from a pre-season Shakedown, there is still room for observations and early analysis. Reliability is a particularly measurable characteristic, even in the earliest days of testing.
With this in mind, Audi avoided any disasters in their first sessions of 2026 – but there is evidently room for improvement.
Audi work to overcome difficulties encountered in Barcelona
Alongside Red Bull, Audi enter this year’s campaign as a new engine manufacturer. There has been substantial investment into the team’s factory in Neuburg, where their power units are designed, developed and assembled.
In the long-term, Audi make no mistake of their ambitions. They have already set 2030 as the target year to begin challenging for Championships.
Although setting five-year plans is not a wise move historically (most infamously exemplified by Alpine) the German squad are understandably aiming for the front of the grid. Still, this is very much a long-term objective.
For the short-term, Audi anticipate significant difficulties – both on the chassis and engine side.
Generally speaking though, it’s the engine that presents the most uncertainty. Unlike their aerodynamic department in Switzerland, which has over two decades of experience developing Sauber’s F1 cars, Audi’s engine development is a new frontier.
Conscious of this steep learning curve, Mattia Binotto has consistently downplayed his team’s chances for the 2026 season. The former Ferrari team principal insists that Audi are not in a position to take the field by storm.
A series of persistent (though far from catastrophic) issues in the Barcelona shakedown have given validity to Binotto’s words of optimism.
With under 250 laps completed, only Cadillac and Aston Martin (who only ran for one full day) accumulated less track time. Various problems, from the power unit to mechanical side, made themselves known on the A526.
Speaking during last week’s running, Binotto was honest about the task ahead:
“I think Gabi [Bortoleto] is happy after the running this morning. He couldn’t run well on the first day, very little mileage.
“He was very, let me say, anxious to have some experience on track to understand the car, the management, power unit and drivability…
“It’s a lot of work for the entire team, it’s a lot of work for the drivers – for the engineers back at home.
“Fixing all the problems, design, operations, whatever we have seen. So really for us it’s no stones unturned, all the details need to be managed and need to be fixed.
“We’ve got a very long list, very very long list. I’ve never seen such a long list. But it’s again, great because the team is really committed to improve and come to Bahrain in better shape.”
