Ex-F1 race winner cites Red Bull example as warning to Audi

Ex-Formula 1 race winner Gerhard Berger has drawn on the time it took Red Bull to win races to warn Audi about expecting immediate success when it enters in 2026.

Audi will venture into the sport for the first time ever as a works manufacturer once it completes a whole takeover of Sauber upon a reset to the technical regulations.

The envious resources Audi boasts and the accolades it has wracked up through other racing disciplines have seen the German marque tipped to conquer F1 as well.

However, Berger has pointed out how Red Bull entered under similar conditions in 2005 and endured several barren years until it transcended into a race-winning side.

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Red Bull has since materialised into a dominant force, but Berger has cautioned Audi against anticipating it will rub shoulders with established teams from the outset.

“You should not underestimate a debut in the highest motorsport class,” Berger told German outlet BILD. “It requires patience on the way to the top and few mistakes.

“I remember Red Bull, which I was quite close to at the time.

“Despite the arrival of Adrian Newey, for example, a lot of mistakes were made and it took six years before they were a winning team.”

Audi CEO Andreas Seidl served to ramp up the expectations earlier this term with his declaration that the manufacturer is entering F1 to “fight for victories and titles”.

Berger, though, has reiterated such aspirations take time to achieve, citing how Ferrari took multiple seasons to succeed even with Michael Schumacher in the team.

“Audi has the resources and the great advantage that they are already involved with Sauber in the background,” Berger, who won 10 F1 races across 210 starts, added.

“But in my opinion, it is going to take at least five years before they will be up [the] front. Look at Ferrari at the beginning of this century.

“Despite Michael Schumacher and the ideal setup of Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, that team needed five years before they started winning world titles.”

Sauber’s on-track competitiveness in 2024 has shown the task facing Audi as the Swiss outfit resides as the one team on the grid not to score in the first nine rounds.

Nevertheless, the Sauber/Audi project has been able to prise Nico Hulkenberg from Haas for 2025, while Carlos Sainz is known to be the top target for the other seat.

However, the Spaniard, who is the son of Audi Dakar winner Carlos Sainz Sr, is also engaged in conversations with Williams as he considers his post-Ferrari prospects.