Mattia Binotto, the newly appointed head of Audi’s future Formula 1 team, anticipates that the German team may not be immediately competitive. Appointed in late July to oversee the transition from Sauber to Audi, Binotto reveals that the new engines may initially underperform compared to their competitors.
“I believe it’s a learning process,” Binotto stated. “We will be competing with organizations whose manufacturers are already established,” he said, referring to the engine departments of Ferrari, Mercedes, and Honda. “The experience they have is significant.” Binotto himself worked at Ferrari from 1995 to 2022, initially as an engine mechanic and later as chief engineer and team boss.
“I think Audi’s organization is fantastic,” Binotto emphasized. “The facilities are excellent and everything is going according to plan, but there is still a learning curve ahead of us. That’s why I expect we will initially lag behind the rest. I can’t yet predict how far behind our competitors we will be.”
Although Audi has a rich motorsport history, modern Formula 1 is new territory for the Germans. Attracted by the new engine regulations of 2026, which will rely even more on hybrid technology, the factory team will make its grid debut in two years.
