Sauber boss Jonathan Wheatley has revealed the team’s priorities heading into an “exciting period”, as it transitions to Audi amid Formula 1‘s upcoming 2026 regulations reset.
The Hinwil-based squad is all set to transform into a works Audi outfit from next season onwards as the sport moves into its latest era.
Audi won’t be the only new face on the grid, with Cadillac joining the paddock as F1’s 11th team.
Naturally, the anticipation and expectations from the technical rule-set and the news teams are high.
Wheatley, who left his role as Red Bull’s Sporting Director to lead the German marque’s project, has now delivered an update about how Audi’s engine program has been coming so far.
“Well, it’s a hugely busy time for every Formula 1 team, and everyone’s focus naturally turns to 2026,” he told media including Motorsport Week ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“We are on schedule with our dyno program. The engine’s been on the dyno for a while now.”
The Briton also divulged that with 2026 being the first year of Audi designing and manufacturing its own power units in F1, the team is looking at reliability over performance.
“The focus now is on reliability because, as you say, we’ll be running the car in an incredibly short period of time,” added Wheatley.
Wheatley delivers Audi F1 2026 timelines
With only seven races remaining this season, many teams would have already shifted its focus on the 2026 regulations.
One of the biggest talking points in the paddock has been the assimilation of chassis and powertrain — given that both aspects have been hugely revamped under the new regulations.
This might be a point of concern for customer teams who will have to mend its designs to accomodate engines and gearboxes from the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari.
However, for Audi, being a factory outfit means it has a more streamlined process towards fabrication.
Wheatley revealed that the team expects to start seeing the entire package come together before the end of the year.
“It’s an exciting period in the Audi F1 project, obviously mating chassis and powertrain together for the first time in December,” he continued.
“Our simulator programme naturally starts to lean towards 2026 as well. But I think in both of those programmes, it’s a little bit too early to talk about performance — which might be your next question.
“And of course, we won’t really know any of this until the first qualifying session and the first race in Melbourne.”
READ MORE — How Christian Horner is free to return to F1 soon as Red Bull exit details revealed
Discussion about this post