‘Everyone in the paddock’ is already saying £470m F1 team won’t be competitive in 2026

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There is still so much to play for during the rest of the 2024 Formula 1 season and the grid is likely to be even tighter heading into 2025.

However, the 2026 F1 campaign will introduce a new set of regulations that could completely shake up the order on the grid.

Already, many of the driver moves that have taken place this year are in preparation for the upcoming ruleset.

It makes Lewis Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari next year look even more interesting given he would have potentially had an inkling as to what Mercedes were working on for their next car.

Alex Albon cited having Mercedes power units as a reason he’s stayed at Williams beyond the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz is exploring every avenue possible before putting pen to paper on a contract with a new outfit ahead of his exit from Ferrari.

Alpine are supposedly chasing a deal with Mercedes as well to use their power units which shows how little faith they have in their own engine production.

However, speaking on the Unlapped Podcast, journalist Nate Saunders shared that the paddock is much more concerned about another team.

Currently sitting bottom of the Constructors’ Championship, Sauber are in a lot of trouble.

Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu haven’t been given a car capable of challenge in the midfield, let alone at the front of the grid.

Audi have already taken control of the £470m-valued team but will officially join the grid in 2026.

However, there’s a worry that in a formula that could be dominated by those who have the best engine, a team trying to produce a power unit of their own for the very first time could end up being left behind.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber from team principal to Audi future

‘Everyone in the paddock’ worried about Audi ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season

Talking about the upcoming regulation changes, Saunders said: “We’ve talked about it before but there are some alarm bells and red flags from pretty much everyone in the paddock, we talked about that paddock consensus.

“Everyone is already saying, ‘Well, Audi aren’t going to be competitive for a while under this new set of regulations.’

“Part of that’s because they’re coming in late in terms of building their team and stuff like that.

“But another part of it is, it’s so dependent on the engine and you’ve got to get that right straight away.

“And the fact that that feeling exists already suggests it’s going to be a very difficult engine formula to get into.”

READ MORE: Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg’s life outside F1 from wife to height

Audi still yet to confirm 2025 plans before entering Formula 1

As Haas will attest to, being the new kid on the block in Formula 1 is no easy task.

They hit the ground running compared to many of the latest new entries to the sport, scoring 29 points and finishing 8^th in the Constructors’ Championship during their debut season.

They’ve since had campaigns where they’ve failed to score any points but this year has been much more positive.

A large portion of that positivity is thanks to Nico Hulkenberg.

The German is closing in on a spot in the top ten of the Drivers’ Championship and has already committed his future to Sauber for next year before becoming an Audi works driver in 2026.

However, Audi haven’t signed a teammate for Hulkenberg yet and if there are rumours swirling around the paddock that they’re already behind their rivals in terms of their car development, they might struggle to attract their top target.