Audi has revealed that its nascent Formula 1 programme has passed a significant milestone with the news its engine is completing race distances across dyno tests.
The German marque will venture into F1 for the first time as a works entrant when it completes a takeover of Sauber as brand-new regulations are introduced in 2026.
But apart from occasional interviews with Sauber CEO Andreas Seidl, Audi had been discreet on the progress it has been making towards its much-anticipated arrival.
However, an interview between Audi Formula Racing CEO Adam Baker and Chief Technical Officer Stefan Dreyer has disclosed that the brand’s ambitions are on track.
Expanding upon how work was materialising behind the scenes in Neuberg, Baker divulged that Audi has overseen simulation tests run with a powertrain on the dyno.
“After just two years, our power unit, consisting of a combustion engine, electric motor, battery and control electronics, is running dynamically on the test bench,” he said.
“Successfully marrying the various components into a single unit is the result of hard work and great teamwork.
“The Audi Power Unit has already covered simulated race distances on the test bench.
“We gained a lot of testing time with the individual components in 2023 and were able to incorporate the experience gained into the next construction stages in parallel.
“Significant milestones and goals have been achieved, which gives the entire team a good feeling.”
Dreyer explained how Audi had stretched to prioritising conducting that exercise on the more challenging circuits on the F1 calendar such as the new Las Vegas track.
“We run the power unit on the test bench with different layouts from the current F1 calendar, depending on the purpose of the test,” he elucidated.
“For example, Las Vegas is interesting for our development team in terms of overall energy management. Several alternating fast and slow corners and almost two kilometres of full throttle driving on the Las Vegas Strip provide the perfect development environment for fine-tuning the combustion engine and the ERS (Energy Recovery System) components.”
Dreyer has proclaimed that Audi is striving to mature its budding package even further while seeking to ensure that it reaches the competitive targets it has outlined.
“After the successful race distances with the power unit we will soon be doing the same with the entire drive system, which means the combination of power unit and transmission.
“At the same time, we are going full throttle with performance development in order to achieve the goals we have set ourselves.”
Meanwhile, Audi has also endeavoured to make a marked investment towards having in place the facilities at Neuburg which will help it to be competitive in the series.
“We implemented a very ambitious modernisation and expansion of our test facility,” Dreyer added.
“Today, we have 22 state-of-the-art test benches at the site. Our new development tools are state-of-the-art and have enabled us to achieve a steep learning curve.”
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