‘Like Teaching a Baby How to Walk’: Bortoleto and Hulkenberg Eye Long Road Ahead for Audi F1 Project

Audi is steadily building momentum toward its Formula 1 debut in 2026, having taken over the former Kick Sauber team and developed its own power unit to comply with the sport's new regulations. The German automotive giant announced its entry intentions back in 2022, and now, with drivers Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg at the helm, the team is navigating the initial phases of car and power unit development.

Following an initial data-gathering shakedown in Barcelona, Audi hit the track again in Bahrain for pre-season testing, where the R26 car featured notable updates, including revised sidepods. Speaking to F1 TV midway through the test, both drivers shared insights into the car's performance, the power unit's progress, and the extensive work still required.

Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto expressed enthusiasm about the ongoing learning process. “I’m quite excited to keep driving and learning new things,” he said. “Obviously, we know it’s a big list of things to be done from our side – it’s a new team, new power unit, new car and everything.”

Bortoleto highlighted the unique challenges of being the sole team using the Audi power unit, which limits available comparative data. “Every time we go to the track, we learn new things, and we improve our car or our power unit,” he added. “It’s a huge learning curve. Especially because I feel like we started on the very basics. We are the only team using the Audi power unit, so it’s not that we can also have more data – we have the data that we provide the team by the amount of mileage we have put so far.”

He vividly compared the development to a foundational stage: “It’s like teaching a baby how to walk and talk. We need to do this as quickly as possible, and in a good way as well.” Bortoleto emphasized the need for rapid evolution to stay competitive.

Teammate Nico Hulkenberg echoed the optimism, noting tangible improvements since the Barcelona session. “I think a good step forward in terms of performance, in terms of reliability, and just being able to get laps in, to get kilometres on the car,” Hulkenberg stated. “We’ve made some big steps forward there, between Barcelona and here.”

The German driver described Bahrain as a rigorous test bed: “Bahrain is a very, very different circuit to Barcelona. It’s a very hard and unforgiving track that really exposes a lot of weaknesses usually, and historically, from any car, because of the rough tarmac, low grip, very windy, hot track temps. It’s a true, good test.”

On the team's approach to optimization, Hulkenberg detailed the iterative process: “We’re constantly working on the power unit, dialling things out, or trying to, running different settings. It’s really a step-by-step case, run-by-run trying different things, feeding back how it feels, tweaking it again and going out again.”

While gauging their position relative to rivals remains tricky due to variables like energy modes and fuel loads, Hulkenberg believes they're not far off the midfield pace. “I think we’re not a million miles away from what I can gauge midfield-wise, but it’s always hard to tell,” he said. “I know there’s a long road ahead, a lot of work still ahead of us, and I think a lot more potential once we dial out many things.”

As Audi continues to refine its setup, the focus remains on steady progress through testing, laying the groundwork for a competitive entry into the 2026 grid.