Audi final summer season confirmed plans to enter the Method 1 each as a constructor and energy unit provider by the 2026 season, and on the 2023 Shanghai auto present earlier this month the automaker supplied an replace on its progress.

Present F1 staff Sauber, which Audi purchased a stake in firstly of 2023, will function Audi’s manufacturing facility staff, and deal with each building of the race automobiles in addition to race operations at its present base in Hinwil, Switzerland. Sauber has its personal wind tunnel positioned on the web site.

Audi has established the brand new firm Audi Method Racing GmbH, primarily based in Neuburg an der Donau, Germany, to supervise the F1 program. The corporate already has 260 specialist workers and can increase this to greater than 300 by the top of the yr, Audi stated.

The facility unit’s improvement and building is being dealt with by Audi Method Racing. In keeping with Oliver Hoffman, Audi’s R&D chief, the event of the ability unit is at the moment within the idea section, the place the muse of the design is being shaped. Key areas being checked out embrace supplies, manufacturing applied sciences, and power administration.

Oliver Hoffmann

A single-cylinder engine was constructed final yr for check bench setup and validation of measuring devices. The primary full energy unit, consisting of the combustion engine, electrical motor, battery, and digital management unit, is scheduled to run on the check bench earlier than the top of the yr. Further check rigs may also be added to the positioning later within the yr, and Audi stated it can additionally improve its present dynamic driving simulator on the Neuburg web site to convey it as much as F1 requirements.

Audi’s energy unit is being designed to meet new guidelines that shall be launched to F1 in 2026. The foundations name for a turbo 1.6-liter V-6 in a hybrid configuration, similar to the present setup. Nevertheless, the brand new energy unit shall be easier because of the elimination of the MGU-H, the electrical motor-generator that recovers exhaust power by way of the turbocharger. The MGU-Okay unit, which recovers power from the (rear) brakes similar to a traditional hybrid, will stay and can deploy extra energy.

The foundations name for a rise in electrical energy to 469 hp from the present 160 hp. Peak output of the system will nonetheless be greater than 1,000 hp, although general gas utilization throughout a race ought to drop from about 220 kilos immediately to 154 kilos in 2026. One other key change shall be the usage of 100% carbon-neutral e-fuel, which F1 is creating with its companions.

The brand new energy unit guidelines along with price range caps launched by F1 just a few years in the past had been essential elements for Audi’s entry into F1, Audi stated. The game’s rising enchantment, notably within the U.S. and China, was additionally essential, in keeping with the automaker.