Audi boss explains why they are at a ‘significant disadvantage’ ahead of 2026 F1 season

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Audi will soon hit the track with their 2026 machine as they edge closer to the start of their Formula 1 journey.

The German giants will join the sport as a new team and engine manufacturer, with the 2026 F1 regulations being the key to their arrival. They are yet to test their first car, but there are already ambitious plans for the future.

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Audi want to win the championship by 2030, which would make them one of the fastest F1 champions in history. The company have had incredible success in other motorsport categories, and they want to replicate that at the pinnacle.

Audi have even stated that they want Max Verstappen in their car at some point in the future. Their ambitions are admirable, but the reality is that they have a huge job ahead of them, and the team knows it.

Jonathan Wheatley admits Sauber’s lack of investment puts Audi at a ‘significant disadvantage’ in 2026

The German manufacturer have taken over Sauber, who will leave the sport after nearly four decades. Audi have inherited their staff, drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, and their factory in Hinwil, Switzerland.

David Coulthard issued a ‘brutal’ verdict on Sauber ahead of their F1 exit, mocking their ‘mediocrity’. The team only won one race in their history, courtesy of Robert Kubica in 2008, and there was a reason for that.

Team principal Jonathan Wheatley admitted to Auto Motor und Sport that ‘too little has been invested’ at Sauber in the past 15 years. With Audi taking over their project, which finished ninth in 2025 with one podium, they are now on the back foot.

AMuS states that Audi’s first shakedown of the 2026 car could come by the second week of January. Wheatley said: “The fact that we’re already this far along with the car shows how well we’ve worked at Sauber.”

It was a step that was desperately needed, as he added “Too little has been invested here over the last 15 years. I don’t want to criticise the people who owned this team and kept it alive, but we’re starting from a significant disadvantage.

“For a long time, the goal was simply to field two cars and finish the races. In the future, we have different goals.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about the Audi F1 team from Sauber past to drivers

Jonathan Wheatley says Sauber exceeded his expectations in 2025 amid ‘immense’ internal pressure

Sauber had a mammoth task in their final season in F1. They were working tirelessly to improve the car after they scored just four points in 2024, whilst building Audi’s first machine for 2026.

Wheatley’s team made significant progress in 2025, with Hulkenberg grabbing his maiden F1 podium at Silverstone, guiding them to 70 points in the championship. The boss admits that his expectations were exceeded.

“Every single sign in the factory is being replaced. Everything you see, feel, and touch at the track will be different,” said Wheatley. “Guiding this team through the season wasn’t easy, but simultaneously preparing for the transition to the Audi works team is something else entirely.

“The expectations and internal pressure are immense. This is an incredibly ambitious project. We still have so much to accomplish before January 1st.

“We have far exceeded my expectations. If someone had told me at the beginning that we would score 70 points, that our pit stop performance would be among the top three or four teams, and that the car’s performance would develop so well, I wouldn’t have believed it. I would have signed up for it immediately. It has been an outstanding season.”