Audi admits it “won’t have the best power unit” in 2026 F1 season

The next 12 months will be pivotal for the Sauber team, with the outfit bracing itself for the arrival of Formula 1’s sweeping new regulations and preparing to become Audi’s factory team. Audi will develop the engine, which F1 lead Mattia Binotto warns won’t be “the best” on the grid.

For 2026, Formula 1 will roll out new regulations to make its cars more nimble to liven up races. New engine rules will increase the use of electrical energy in a grand prix to help the series become more sustainable.

Alongside the new engine rules, F1 will also welcome new engine manufacturers, with Audi and Ford – through a partnership with Red Bull – set to join from 2026 and Cadillac following from 2029.  

“Making power units – I know this well because I was an engine engineer – is much more complex and complicated than one might imagine watching races as a spectator,” said Binotto, who is the head of Audi’s F1 project, in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.

Binotto previously worked at Ferrari as it navigated the series’ last major engine shakeup, which came in 2014 with the introduction of the current-generation V6 hybrid power units.

“Now, however, we are entering something extremely advanced that has never been done. Therefore, we will find a higher level of difficulty, even though the starting point is always an engine. We will have to change the culture of the engine and it will not be easy.” 

The new rules require a 50-50 split in power produced by the internal combustion unit and the electrical components. The complex MGU-H, which harvests thermal energy from the combustion engine, is being removed, and the motors will all be required to run on 100% sustainable fuels.  

These sweeping changes are providing a challenge for engine manufacturers, and Binotto admits that Audi is no different.  

“We’re focused on ourselves,” he said. “We know that 2026 will not be the year in which we’ll be at the top. We won’t have the best power unit, but the path that has been taken is the right one, I’m confident.” 

Mattia Binotto, Sauber

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

The impending rule change could also open up new avenues of competition, as teams will have a say on what fuels they use in their new engines. Options including e-fuels and biofuels are available, which Binotto adds means that “fuel will become a differentiating factor” for teams in 2026.  

Interestingly, Audi may have a leg up in this regard as its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, has a history with e-fuels. Through its Porsche brand, the company is investing heavily in sustainable petrol alternatives and has backed a production site in Chile.  

This project, which kicked off in 2023, could help Audi’s performance next season, but Binotto admits that he’s heard “rumours” that one team could once again capitalise on the sweeping power unit changes: Mercedes. The German outfit is reportedly already a step above the rest, and Binotto warns that the move to new motors could once again kickstart a period of dominance for one team.  

“In 2014 when a more important hybrid was introduced on the power unit, it was an engine championship at the beginning,” he says. “Because Mercedes had made the difference. It’s a situation that could happen again and those who have to recover will try to do so.” 

Of course, this doesn’t mean the season is shaping up to be a Mercedes clean sweep once again. And we won’t truly know how the new power units stack up until lights go out at the first race of the 2026 season. 

One thing’s for sure, however. 2026 will mark a turning point in the history of the Sauber team, which last won an F1 race in 2008 when it competed under another German brand: BMW.