Audi gives update on F1 expansion plans ahead of 2026 entry
Audi has provided an update on its Formula 1 expansion plans ahead of its factory entry in 2026 with Sauber after commencing work on growing its facilities.
Audi announced at the end of August that it would be entering F1 for the first time from 2026 as a power unit supplier, before a link-up with Sauber was confirmed in October.
The deal will see Sauber serve as the strategic partner for the Audi team, developing the chassis out of its Hinwil base in Switzerland while the power unit is looked after by Audi in Neuburg, Germany.
Audi has provided more details on the expansion of its Neuburg facility to accommodate the F1 project after commencing the construction of a new 3,000-square-metre building that will be home to the test benches for the power unit development.
The building, known as F7.2, is part of an expansion of its Competence Centre Motorsport, which opened in 2014 and was home to Audi's factory racing operations for the World Endurance Championship, Formula E and the Dakar Rally.
The extension should be completed in the first quarter of 2024, but the first activities should be conducted out of it from March next year.
The new Audi Sport F1 concept car
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
"With the Competence Centre Motorsport, we have an ideal base for our Formula 1 project," said Oliver Hoffmann, Audi's board member for technical development.
"Audi Neuburg was designed from the outset to be able to tackle the most demanding motorsport projects. This foresight is paying off. With the existing facilities, we were able to immediately begin with the Formula 1 project.
"The expansion will create the necessary infrastructure for the development of our F1 power unit for the long term.
"With the building extension and the installation of state-of-the-art test benches, we are giving our development team the best possible conditions to be successful in the top class of motorsport."
Audi has been on a recruitment drive since announcing its F1 plans, and has already brought on board around 220 employees. The German manufacturer said its target was to pass the 300 mark by mid-2023.
"Developing a power unit for the world's most demanding racing series in Germany is a great challenge," said Adam Baker, who is overseeing Audi's F1 plans.
"We already have a great team at our facility in Neuburg an der Donau that is growing all of the time."
Related video
How departing F1 boss Brawn views F1’s new rules - and the future
Ferrari’s Binotto F1 split looks ‘strange’, says Brundle
Why the time was right for Ford's F1 return with Red Bull
Some 22 years after pulling the plug out of Jaguar and handing the keys to a certain Dietrich Mateschitz, the paths of Ford and Red Bull have crossed again. And their 2026 Formula 1 alliance makes sense for both parties.
Vandoorne joins Peugeot WEC team as reserve driver
Reigning Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne will serve as Peugeot’s official reserve driver in its first full season in the World Endurance Championship in 2023.
Red Bull duo say Ricciardo F1 sim input will be a boost
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez reckon Red Bull will gain significantly from Daniel Ricciardo working in its simulator on Formula 1 weekends as part of his new third driver role.
Who needs a big year in MotoGP in 2023?
The beginning of the new season provides many with a fresh start, and for a few MotoGP contenders this applies for different reasons. From fighting to stay on the grid to battling for even bigger prizes beyond trophies, here’s five figures in need of a massive 2023
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.