Audi F1 CEO: “This is the most important thing for us right now. Time will tell.”

Audi team boss Jonathan Whitley is preparing for a tough first season in Formula 1 and admits 2026 will be a real roller-coaster year for the team.

The German automaker introduced its first car, the Audi R26, at an event in Berlin. The car received a silver, red and black livery that was previously shown without sponsor logos in the December preview.

Audi has taken over the Sauber base in Hinwil, Switzerland, and is also developing its own power plant according to new regulations at the site in Neuburg. This is a tense time for the team as they have to build from scratch a structure that can compete with the established F1 giants.

Although Audi’s strategic aim is to challenge for the championship by 2030, Wheatley is acutely aware that the first season will not be easy. Speaking to reporters on the eve of the presentation, he explained in detail the team’s expectations:

“Everyone starts the season with a car they have created specifically for this year, so each team sets its own internal targets.
“There are times when you get so close to that goal that you start to think you can beat it, and sometimes there are times when you have it all (good weeks and bad weeks) in the process of figuring out your own approach to development.”

“The most important thing for us now is to make the most of the testing days before the first race. We need to understand the car as well as possible, listen carefully to the drivers and make sure that development is going in the right direction.”

Evaluating Audi’s competitiveness, the team leader emphasized that the real balance of power will not be immediately clear:

“Time will tell. There are several new technical solutions in the car that engineers have been working on for a long time, but you never know for sure.”
No one will know where they are until qualifying in Melbourne. And even then the full picture will only start to emerge after the first two or three races.”

“At the end of the day you still have a chassis, an engine and a pilot, and it’s about getting the most out of each of these elements.”