Audi will begin the first tests of its engine prototype this year
On the sidelines of the Shanghai 2023 car show, Audi detailed the progress of its project in the premier category, in addition to an F1 show car, already seen during the program announcement, at Spa last year.
Audi’s press conference on the progress of its F1 project at the Shanghai Auto Show underscores the importance of the Chinese market for Formula 1, especially considering that their Chinese Grand Prix has been absent from the calendar since 2020.
A project that has “taken off”
In less than three years, the brand with the rings, for the first time in its history, will participate in the Formula 1 World Championship with Sauber and an engine developed in Germany by Audi.
According to Olivier Hoffmann, a member of the board of directors for technical development at Audi AG, for now, everything is going smoothly with the foundations already laid for the future propulsion system.
“The Audi Formula 1 project has really taken off in recent months,” said Oliver Hoffmann, member of the executive board for technical development at Audi AG, during a presentation in China.
In the current design phase, the foundations of our powertrain for 2026 are being laid today. We attach great importance to detailed work, such as materials or manufacturing technologies, and we also focus on topics such as managing hybrid transmission energy.
After all, efficiency is a key factor for success in Formula 1 and future mobility, these approaches will advance both worlds.
The engine prototype will be tested before the end of the year.
Audi also revealed that the first complete hybrid powertrain unit, composed of the combustion engine, electric motor, battery, and electronic control unit, is expected to be tested on the test bench before the end of this year and will form the basis of the future vehicle concept.
An important step in its development program, with the aim of testing the final concept in a mule car at some point in 2025, before its debut in F1 the following year.
A team that will continue to grow
The German manufacturer continues to recruit, in order to form by the end of the year a team of 300 employees, which already includes 260 working on the Audi Formula Racing GmbH project.
In parallel, the Neuburg Motorsport Competence Center is expanding. The future infrastructure of 3,000 square meters will accommodate around sixty employees and will feature several state-of-the-art test benches that will be operational even before the completion of the construction, which is expected to be finished by early 2024.
Earlier, Audi had outlined its criteria for selecting its driver lineup for 2026.
