Audi taking ‘hugely bold’ R26 approach after testing updates

Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley said the team has taken a “hugely bold approach” to Formula 1’s new regulations, but emphasised the team is “starting from humble beginnings.”

The R26 – Audi’s first official Formula 1 challenger after its takeover of the Sauber Group – debuted in Barcelona shakedown running, and continued to run reliably all the way through Bahrain testing, clocking 710 laps of the Bahrain International Circuit across six days.

Audi boss reveals ‘hugely bold approach’ to new regulations

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The second test in particular saw Audi raise eyebrows by bringing a new aerodynamic package to its car, with striking smaller sidepods making up part of a more refined package in the R26’s ‘B spec’ run in testing – drawing slight comparisons to Mercedes’ infamous ‘zero-pod’ concept used in 2022.

Wheatley confirmed that the early updates came as having passed FIA-mandated tests early, which enabled the team to bring upgrades before the season begins in Australia.

He acknowledged that rivals had taken notice of the team’s updated design, but stressed that Audi is somewhat starting from scratch in this new era.

“We passed the crash test early,” Wheatley revealed to PlanetF1.com and other outlets in Bahrain.

“We put a car together early, so you define an aerodynamic package to run the car in an early state, and compared with this sophisticated package we have in the car now, it was quite crude, but we were out there, we ran it.

“We were putting mileage on the car and not putting mileage on the car, and learning all the time.

“I’m encouraged. We have a hugely bold approach to these technical regulations, and I think people are looking at us, and they can see the ambition in the team – but talking about its ambition, because we’re starting from humble beginnings.”

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As for how the team will perform this season, rivals up and down the grid predicted that Mercedes and Ferrari look likely to be the frontrunning duo come the Australian Grand Prix, with McLaren and Red Bull close behind in the chasing pack – with a tight midfield battle behind.

Due to how much the teams appeared to hide exactly where they stood in Bahrain, the former Red Bull sporting director is unsure where Audi will be in the field come next weekend.

With that, though, came intriguing chats for the Audi team throughout testing, as the team principal explained the excitement among engineers for how to attack this new regulation cycle.

“Honestly, no,” Wheatley responded when asked if he knows where Audi sits.

“I think if you ask me [after testing], I will have a little bit [of a] better idea. If you ask me in Melbourne after qualifying, another one, and then after – because nobody’s showing their hand.

“Everyone’s doing something different in terms of fuel levels. It’s fascinating to see the energy recovery and deployment use and how people are messing around with that, understanding which gears are used, what ratios.

“We’re starting to build up a picture of what our competitors are doing and [having] some fascinating conversations.

“For the engineers in the team, actually, for all of us, this new set of technical regulations is hugely exciting.

“We hit our goals in terms of following our plans. At the moment, everything’s on track and the manageables are being managed.”

Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher

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