Audi set its sights on Formula 1 years ago. Now that the manufacturer’s debut has finally arrived, CEO Gernot Döllner is aiming for a quick ascent.
“We are not entering Formula 1 just to be there. We want to win,” Döllner said last year. “By 2030, we want to fight for the world championship title.”
This vision would mean a five-season sprint to the front of the pack, and the race is on. Officially competing as Audi Revolut, the F1 team unveiled its first car, the R26, on Jan. 20 at an event in Berlin. They’re now preparing for the season opener on March 7 in Melbourne, Australia.
But forget about winning the top prize in F1 for a moment; just making the points — that is, finishing inside the top 10 at a grand prix race — is an impressive feat. In order to score at all, a team has to build and maintain a car in a field stacked with the best automotive engineers and mechanics in the world, who are constantly stalking the most minuscule of competitive edges. The drivers need to extract every hundredth of a second possible each and every lap while 21 other drivers fight for position. Then there are strategy concerns: the bosses need to devise an iron-clad race plan that maximizes the team’s potential.
At the squad’s launch celebration, Audi Revolut F1 Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley admitted that the goal of a championship in that time frame is ambitious, if not preposterous, but in racing you have to have a target.
“I think it’s one of the greatest technical and human challenges in the world of sport,” he told InsideHook. “To win in Formula 1 at this level with the competition that you face, it’s a personal challenge for every single person in it.”
An Ace (or Two) Up Audi’s Sleeve
A five-year runway may be short, but history has proven it is possible, as Wheatley is keenly aware. Red Bull Racing went from its first start on the grid in 2005 to a constructors’ and drivers’ championship in 2010, when Wheatley was the team manager.
Audi also has a little bit of a head start. Wheatley and Mattia Binotto, the former team principal for Ferrari and now head of Audi’s F1 efforts, both started running the Kick Sauber squad, which Audi bought, ahead of the German manufacturer’s takeover. Sauber drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto also made the transition to Audi; the team managed to eke out a 9th place constructors’ finish in 2025.
“We’re starting from humble beginnings,” Wheatley said. “This was a very small team, under-financed for a very long period of time. We’re building it up into a big team, a campus, bringing together this incredible powertrain from Germany and mating it to a Swiss chassis to create this Audi Revolut F1 car. I mean, it’s an extraordinary achievement already.”
“Hopefully we achieve [an F1 championship] before 2030.”
-Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 driver
The newly minted F1 squad has another factor working in its favor on this abbreviated quest for victory: The regulations for the 2026 season require more electrification (almost 50% of the power compared to the internal combustion engine) and the adoption of “advanced sustainable fuel” to power the 1.6-liter V6 engine. So, in some respects, every team is starting from scratch.
Audi is also a manufacturer that knows how to win — their racing resume was on display at the Berlin event with vehicles like an Auto Union Type C, S1 Quattro, DTM-spec A4 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning R18 E-tron Quattro. Overall, Audi has collected four World Rally Championships, 13 Le Mans victories and a win in the Dakar Rally. Soon, they hope to add an F1 trophy to the shelf.
Stay Humble, Stay Hungry
While a goal for 2030 is all well and good, the Australian Grand Prix, the first race of the 2026 season, is nigh. So what is Audi Revolut’s goal for this inaugural outing?
“We have longly discussed what should be the objective for ’26,” Binotto said. “I think it’s for us, in some ways, to become competitive. We need to stay humble. There is much to learn.”
Wheatley echoed the same humility for this season’s potential. “I think the expectations should be realistic,” he said. “We’re a challenger. We’re starting out. We’re bringing together a brand new powertrain into a new chassis as a works Formula 1 team. It’s about building momentum.”
F1 Needs an American Star. Jak Crawford’s Ready for the Call.
The Texas racing phenom is headed into his third season of Formula 2, with his sights set on the pinnacle of motorsportsIt probably goes without saying that Wheatley and Binotto are laser-focused on maximizing the performance of not just the car, but the entire team. But when asked what his personal goal for this season is, Wheatley said, “It would be to feel like the team has really become cohesive,” which is no small feat for an operation that will now number around 1,500 heads (up from around 700 on Kick Sauber.)
Bortoleto, who made his F1 driver debut last year, is perhaps a little more bullish on the team’s prospect of reaching their goal. “Hopefully we achieve [an F1 championship] before 2030,” he said in Berlin. “We are building everything from scratch, so it’s definitely not going to be easy and there’s a lot of work to be done.”
“That’s What I Love About Formula 1”
It’s natural that Bortoleto is champing at the bit to win races, but realistically he doesn’t think that’s in the cards for 2026. His best finish last season as a rookie was sixth in Hungary. In the near term, he said, “I just want to be competitive. I want to be fighting for something. I want to see progression.” Hülkenberg takes a similar line of thinking: “It’s going to be a tough mountain to climb.”
With a new power unit, chassis and gearbox, Hülkenberg knows issues will come faster than corners in Monaco (in fact, they’ve already begun to appear in pre-season testing). As such, he’s focused on pinpointing solutions based on his 15 years kicking around F1. “We’re making history anyway by taking Audi to Formula 1,” he said, “but obviously we want to make it successful.”
Last year, Hülkenberg earned the team’s only podium at a soggy Silverstone — the first of his career. The result could be considered a good sign for both the driver and the strategy that got him around the wet track, navigating the misfortunes of his competitors. Could there be more podiums this season?
“I really don’t want to predict what the results could be in 2026,” Wheatley said. But if the Audi team is in the thick of it and competitive, points and podiums are eminently possible.
“You never know — a lucky safety car, a bit of rain here and there, and you can have an extraordinary result,” he said. “That’s what I love about Formula 1 — its opportunity.”
As the man who actually has to sit behind the wheel of the car that pushes over 200 mph at legendary tracks around the world, Hülkenberg has another perspective on these sorts of pre-season prognostications.
“You can talk all you want,” he said, “but the music really starts when we start driving.”
More Like This
The Charge will help you move better, think clearer and stay in the game longer. Subscribe to our wellness newsletter today.