Audi delays major Formula 1 power-unit upgrade until 2027

Audi chooses a measured development path

Audi will not introduce another major Formula 1 power-unit upgrade before the end of the 2026 season, racing director Allan McNish has confirmed. The manufacturer’s next significant step is now planned for 2027, with budget-cap management shaping the timing of its development programme.

Audi took over the Sauber squad this year and introduced its first F1 engine project. After rarely troubling the top 10 early in the season, the team brought its first power-unit update to the Barcelona Grand Prix. Nico Hülkenberg said the change focused mainly on driveability, an area in which the R26 had been vulnerable.

The impact has been visible in the results. Audi has scored points in the last three rounds, with Gabriel Bortoleto contributing eight and Hülkenberg two, moving the team ahead of Williams into eighth place in the constructors’ championship. The progress also arrives as Audi continues to evaluate its longer-term package, including the development work discussed in Audi’s 2027 Pirelli tyre test.

Budget cap dictates the timetable

Asked when the next powertrain update would appear, McNish replied: “It’ll be next year.” He explained that teams must balance chassis and power-unit upgrades rather than spend their available resources at once.

“Because you can’t spend everything at one time, because then you don’t have anything to fight with later,” McNish said. He added that the approach must be managed not only across one season, but over multiple seasons.

Audi’s Barcelona change was described as a small adaptation introduced through the ADUO framework for weaker powertrains. McNish said it worked well, while the larger power-unit components were being reserved for 2027. “We will not see anything big on the power unit until then,” he stated.

Why driveability matters

Hülkenberg’s explanation underlines why the Barcelona step could influence performance without being a headline-grabbing hardware change. Driveability concerns how the power unit responds to the driver’s pedal request, including torque delivery, consistency and smoothness. The effect can appear in less than a tenth of a second on corner exit, but matters when the car is being driven at its limit.

He also pointed to gearbox shift quality, with upshifts and downshifts affecting car balance and behaviour. For Audi, those details have contributed to its recent improvement. The next major move, however, will require more substantial hardware and is therefore a 2027 project.