Audi facing complex power unit push after difficult F1 start

Audi’s power unit challenge comes into focus

Audi racing director Allan McNish has acknowledged the scale of the task facing the German manufacturer after admitting that building a Formula 1 power unit from scratch has been a “very complex situation”.

Audi, like Red Bull, has entered the season as a new power unit supplier, while also operating as a factory team following its acquisition of Sauber. The early picture has been one of relative consistency, but not yet of front-running competitiveness.

Across the opening seven rounds, Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto have both avoided finishing lower than 13th. Yet the team’s points return remains thin: Bortoleto’s two points from the Melbourne season opener are still Audi’s only top-10 result of the campaign.

Hülkenberg appeared well placed to add to that total in Barcelona before a deeply unfortunate retirement. As detailed in our report on the wild gravel strike behind Nico Hülkenberg’s Barcelona GP retirement, a piece of gravel flicked up by Liam Lawson struck the pull loop on the side of the car, triggering the kill switch and shutting it down completely.

Reliability improved, performance still under scrutiny

Beyond that freak incident, Audi has also faced broader questions over power unit reliability and outright performance. Both drivers have pointed to a lack of power, while numerous reports have placed Audi fourth in the current power unit pecking order, ahead of only Honda.

That ranking could prove significant. Under the situation outlined in the source material, Audi should be entitled to two internal combustion engine upgrades this year and again in 2027, offering a meaningful route to close the gap if the team can convert development opportunity into performance.

Asked where Audi believes its power unit stands, McNish was clear that the first season was never expected to be straightforward.

“Certainly, we knew that the first season of the power unit was always going to be difficult, building it from the ground up,” McNish told media.

He added: “I think there have definitely been some areas where we’ve worked on it very hard and improved the reliability quite a lot as well. So, in that respect, it’s always been a non-factor.”

McNish stressed that Audi’s Barcelona retirement should not be read as another power unit failure, given the unusual nature of the shutdown.

“It was a very complex situation, and it was never going to be easy to come out with the best power unit overall,” he said. “But with regard to where we are now, I don’t think that was a factor in our issues in Barcelona in the end.”

For Audi, the priority is now clear: improve the power unit while continuing to develop every other area of the car and team. The foundations may be stable, but the next phase must deliver measurable performance.

Audi’s power unit challenge comes into focus