The scale of the challenge facing Audi's F1 assault

Audi has been unexpectedly pointed in its reasoning for entering Formula 1, acting in a way most unlike the massive, grey-suited corporation that it is. In the very first paragraph of the official announcement of its new engine programme was this line: “This is the first time in more than a decade that a Formula 1 powertrain will be built in Germany.” The social media posts ran the message that the four rings will be “the new stars”. This comes as the Ingolstadt boardroom believes Mercedes can be beaten both on track and at the forecourt via the medium of grand prix racing.

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Whether you consider those lines to be entertaining needle or simply needless, there’s no escaping the enormity of the task at hand for Audi. Press conference at Spa over and done, it now needs to go on a hiring spree and redevelop its motorsport facility at Neuburg to top-flight standard before fully embarking on designing its hybrid power unit.

Meanwhile, also in Belgium last weekend, Christian Horner confirmed his newly established Red Bull Powertrains division had just before the summer break fired up its 2026-spec internal combustion engine for the first time. It’s so far along partly by hedging its bets, pressing on with research and development before the precise compression ratio and piston specification for the new rules was locked in by the FIA. Mercedes is similarly down the road, and increasingly able to pile resources into the new engine formula now that its Formula E entry has been canned.

Audi is therefore already on the back foot. It can recover some ground by recruiting those with plenty of F1 experience in a bid to catch up on the years of know-how High Performance Powertrains and the poached heads at Red Bull already have. But it cannot simply go to its Volkswagen Group overlords, ask for a blank cheque, and buy its way to success. A powertrain cost cap was a prerequisite for Audi to commit to F1 so it could appease its accounts department by showing there would be some lid on spending. However, the greater financial sustainability offered could also contribute to its struggles.

From 2026 onwards, engine manufacturers can spend up to $130million per year. But as Audi prepares for its entry across seasons 2023-2025, it will be able to splash $95m and as a newcomer, will gain an extra $10m in the first two seasons leading up to its entry and $5m in year three. On paper, that helps it get up to speed. But in the context of F1, $10m isn’t much more than a drop in the ocean if it’s doing battle with Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari, who will by then have 12 years of hybrid experience in F1. Reengineering the mothballed Porsche 1.6-litre V6 mule to become a standard-bearer, which is Audi’s plan, will take a lot more than that.

Audi unveiled its F1 plans at last weekend's Belgian GP

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

That’s also only what Audi must do in a straight line. It’s a poorly kept paddock secret that the marque will hop into bed with the Sauber race team to design and build its chassis, with Alfa Romeo confirming its logos will disappear from the Swiss cars at the end of 2023. We also know that Sauber isn’t currently operating up to the budget cap – hence why the building times for its upgraded parts are slow. Therefore, Audi has some spending to do here to extract every ounce of performance to be up to speed as soon as possible. Audi boss Markus Duesmann has set clear targets in this respect, saying at Spa: “Ideally within the first three years, we should be very competitive.”

Add that timeline on top of when the manufacturer will make its eventual F1 return in 2026, and that’s 6.5 years. Not especially long. When Renault re-entered as a works team in 2016, it had a five-year plan to win titles. Six seasons later, it had in fact only returned Esteban Ocon’s 2021 Hungarian GP victory. For 2022, it’s a new 100-race timeframe for Alpine.

From 2026 onwards, engine manufacturers can spend up to $130million per year. As a newcomer, Audi will gain an extra $10m in its first two seasons and $5m in year three. On paper, that helps it get up to speed. But in the context of F1, $10m isn’t much more than a drop in the ocean

And while Audi’s trophy cabinets are extremely well populated from its rally and race success, arguably its two most high-profile recent attacks have flattered to deceive. Think of Audi motorsport in the 21st century and you think of prototype racing. The marque was king of the hill in 2013 before Toyota pipped it the year after in the World Endurance Championship overall. As soon as the competition stepped up and Porsche had fettled its 919 for 2015, Audi was blown away to a distant second place before withdrawing at the end of 2016.

The other headline programme has been Formula E. Its driver Lucas di Grassi was crowned champion in 2016-17 and Audi narrowly bagged the teams’ title by only two points the year after – snatching the crown at the death. But just as it should have been poised for a run at electric greatness, it slipped to second the campaign after, then sixth, fourth, and then it quit the series altogether.

None of this is to say that Audi cannot be competitive in F1, snaring at least podiums in double-quick time, as it has targeted. But the scale of the task and the size of the obstacles for it to do so must be considered.

The scale of the task for Audi to reach success in F1 remains huge

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images