BREAKING: AUDI TO JOIN FORMULA ONE
BREAKING: Audi AG, the Volkswagen-owned premium car manufacturer, will enter Formula One in 2026 as a full competitor.
Audi has been working on entering F1 for a few years now, on condition that the powertrain requirements change towards a more environmentally-friendly option. The company feels that this has now happened and they are ready to join the F1 grid.
For now there are no details as to whether Audi will buy an existing team or create one from the ground up. But since it is cheaper and technically more prudent to buy, I believe this is the route they will take. A decision should be made to this effect by the end of this year. Another decision that will be made is who the team members will be. This might include the drivers.
“Motorsport is an integral part of Audi’s DNA,” says Markus Duesmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG. “Formula 1 is both a global stage for our brand and a highly challenging development laboratory. The combination of high performance and competition is always a driver of innovation and technology transfer in our industry. With the new rules, now is the right time for us to get involved. After all, Formula 1 and Audi both pursue clear sustainability goals.”
“From 2026, the electric power output for the power units, consisting of an electric motor, battery, control electronics, and a combustion engine, will increase sharply compared to today’s Formula 1 drive systems. The electric motor will then be nearly as powerful as the combustion engine, which has an output of about 400kW. The highly efficient 1.6-liter turbo engines run on advanced sustainable fuel – also a prerequisite for Audi’s entry into the series,” says the Audi press statement.
