When the FIA made the decision to ditch the V8 engines for the new V6 Turbo hybrid power units, the planned timescales was for them to be replaced in 2022. A combination of dithering amongst potential new manufacturers capped off by Covid-19 saw the new power unit era pushed back until 2026.

Despite talk from a number of interested parties including Porsche, when push came to shove just Audi were attracted into F1 in response to the FIA’s push for a more diverse number of suppliers.

With Renault now set to withdraw from the sport, the net gain of manufacturers has now been lost with just Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda and Audi now to enter the new era. Ford have partnered with Red Bull Powertrains but their input is driven by RBR’s request for specific assistance and is believed to be focused around the electrical side of the power unit.

 

 

 

Audi recruitment problems

Audi pipped Andretti to the post in acquiring the Kick Sauber team and hurriedly completed the purchase in March this year following reports Sauber were out of cash. Yet for now it appears the focus is on the new Audi power unit with Sauber left to fend themselves.

The Audi F1 project has suffered setbacks with technical director James Key revealing the integration between Audi and Sauber may only be complete come the end of 2026.

Kick Sauber have been struggling to upscale their numbers at the Hinwii base in Switzerland due to a lack of local expertise and a reluctance of others to relocate from their homes in England.

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur explained why even the pull of working for Ferrari is not enough at times to persuade new recruits to join the most successful team in F1 history.

Alpine boss says “no” to Mercedes

 

 

 

Split location difficulties

“It’s not the same situation. You can switch from Red Bull to Mercedes and keep the same home, keep the children in the same school from Monday to Friday, everything is perfect. If you want to come to Italy, the approach is different. You have to change the family environment,” said Vasseur.

Sauber/Audi are now experiencing the same difficulty but without the pull of the Ferrari brand. Even Mercedes have located their High Performance Powertrains division in England’s ‘motorsport valley’ which runs some 90 miles from Milton Keynes down to Woking in Surrey.

The Audi power unit is being built at their 3,000 square foot facility in Neuburg, Germany. The company recently released a media update claiming the facility is not state of the art, with 22 test benches for the power units. Audi claims it has already completed hundreds of simulations of the various F1 circuits and now employs 300 members of staff working on the project in Germany.

The German brand is clearly serious about its F1 power unit already employing 100 more people than Renault in Viry-Chattilon where the French F1 power unit is made.

F1 team principal says Horner should have ditched Perez

 

 

 

Sainz shuns Audi works team

Yet recent upheavals in the F1 project’s personnel has raised a number of questions among senior F1 observers. Andreas Seidl who was poached from McLaren and the CEO was sacked last week and Mattia Binotto brought in as some kind of godfather figure. 

Yesterday the Sauber/Audi team revealed they were appointing a new team principal in Jonathan Wheatley who has been at Red Bull Racing for the entirety of its existence. As Sporting Director Wheatley famously persuaded F1 race director Michael Massi to restart the now infamous 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which saw Verstappen pass Hamilton on the last lap to claim his maiden F1 drivers’ title.

Carlos Sainz has been publicly courted by Audi this year, but it seems the lack of permanence of structure made the Spaniard nervous about following in his father’s footsteps, who is an Audi winner in the Dakar Rally. Now former team boss Eddie Jordan believes Audi have made a “fundamental mistake” having decided to build power units in Germany whilst running the team from Switzerland.

Speaking to David Coulthard on the Formula for Success podcast, the 76 year old founder of Jordan Grand Prix in 1991 questions why Audi are not running their team from England.

Red Bull Racing trouble as senior staffer bails

 

 

 

Audi business plan questioned

“I have a question mark over Audi full stop. You [David Coulthard] and I are particularly good friends with McNish, with Alan, and we wish him well there. But that’s a big, big task he’s taken on. 

“A big operation to build a car, to run it out of Switzerland, to run it out of with German people, German manufacturing. Oh, my God,” Jordan exclaimed. The Irishman believes Audi will suffer from poor supply line timescales in the EU where the split sites will suffer from differing working practices.

“When did you last see a Swiss or a German team win a world title?“  asks Jordan. “We saw what Toyota did. They came and they tried to do it that way and it didn’t work. There is no better way to run a race car than through Britain and particularly in that area of Northampton, Oxfordshire and various other places. 

They just got such a wealth of knowledge. They’ve just got such a mindset of being able to win or to achieving or to getting the best.”

Sainz paddock insiders explain Williams move

 

 

 

“Fundamentally wrong,” says Jordan

F1 world champions Mercedes, whilst a German brand acquired the British based Brawn team when it re-joined F1 after half a century’s absence. Further, its power units are assembled just 30 miles down the road from Brackley based in the heart of ‘motorsport valley.’

Eddie Jordan is concerned for Audi’s ability have a nimble culture explaining in Switzerland “you go out and you order a piece of machinery to be done in Switzerland. They’ll give you a timeline of maybe lead in maybe four days, four weeks, four months. And there’s nothing you can do. 

“Whereas if you’re in the UK, you will just sit on top of that supplier and say, if you don’t do this, you just don’t get any more work. They’ll work night and day to get it done. That’s the philosophy that there is a racing culture. It’s in the DNA. And I think what Audi are doing is fundamentally wrong.”

The Racing Bulls are the third team based outside of England, but the sister team of Red Bull relocated a significant part of its operations from Faenza Italy to England over the winter. Marko cited similar reasons to Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur blaming recruitment difficulties in Italy for the restructure.

Pastry admits unlikely to help Norris in title race

 

 

 

Bottas to survive

Kick Sauber are the only team without a point this F1 season and Eddie Jordan expressing his sympathy for the founder of the organisation. “I adore Peter Sauber as a person, but nice people don’t win anything. It must be a big embarrassment for him to be the only team without a point,” he added.

Sauber/Audi have confirmed German driver Nico Hulkenberg as one of their drivers and whilst the nationality of the Hulk works well for the team, his performances this year have been stellar.

As yet the other pilot is unconfirmed, with Zhou Guangu expected to leave at the end of the season. Carlos Sainz recent announcement of his move to Williams may be the lifeline Valtteri Bottas needs to save his F1 career with Sauber/Audi. 

While the Finn may not be a long term option for German brand, his knowledge of the team during the next two seasons transition, will clearly serve them well.

Horner tells Max: “Perez is gone”

 

 

 

Report: Farewell to Renault F1 power, a victim of bad hybrid decisions

The shocks keep on coming during the 2024 Formula One season, kicked off by Lewis Hamilton announcing his departure from Mercedes at the end of the year. Ex-Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has been recruited to sort out the mess at Audi who have also recruited long standing Red Bull senior team member, Jonathan Wheatley as team principal.

The chaos at Alpine has continued following the sacking of team boss Otmar Szafnaeur at last season’s Belgium GP. Bruno Famin came in as a stand in replacement, but now he will be replaced after the summer break by Oliver Oakes who founded the Hitech GP back in 2015.

Famin famously had a meltdown live on French TV, following Esteban Ocon’s collision with his team mate during the Monaco Grand Prix. He threatened “consequences” for his driver who subsequently announced days later he would be leaving the French owned F1 team. READ MORE