(Motorsport-Total.com) – Where does Audi stand before the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season? Expert Marc Surer is optimistic after the impressions from the winter tests and explains: “Now it already looks like the Audi is capable of finishing in the points right away.”
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In an exclusive video interview on the Formel1.de YouTube channel, he explains: “I expected them to build a powertrain that works immediately.” He recalls the “various tasks that Audi has taken on in the past.”
Specifically, Surer refers, among other things, to the successes Audi was able to celebrate in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) or at the Dakar Rally. Therefore, he had no doubt that they would also master the new engine regulations in Formula 1.
A bigger question mark for him was the chassis. “The Sauber, that wasn’t necessarily a super chassis in the past,” he recalls. The Audi predecessor team finished the 2025 season in ninth and penultimate place in the World Championship standings.
But even with the chassis, they now seem to be “on the right track” in Hinwil, according to Surer. “That means the cooperation seems to be working,” he emphasizes. Although there were some “initial difficulties” during the tests, these were “only minor things.”
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Gabriel Bortoleto finished the test in Bahrain in tenth place on the timesheets. This placed Audi in the upper midfield behind Alpine and Haas, leaving teams like Racing Bulls or Williams behind.
Although the raw test times in Formula 1 do not have the greatest significance, apart from that, what Audi showed in Bahrain was “strong,” according to Surer, who certainly believes the team is capable of success in Formula 1 in the coming years.
The racing team itself has designated 2030 as the year from which they want to fight for the World Championship title. “If they continue like this, making progress as they are now, that will be the case much earlier,” Surer believes.
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