Audi has joined F1 and we got an exclusive look at its stunning new livery in person
Published on Mar 02, 2026 at 2:19 AM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Mar 02, 2026 at 2:19 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
After competing – and winning – in just about every form of motorsport, Audi has finally joined Formula 1 with a new team and an incredible livery.
Formula 1 is a high-stakes, high-pressure game, so it’s all uphill from here.
Still, this is something that must be celebrated.
And it’s only the beginning.
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Audi knows what it’s doing when it comes to Motorsport
Audi‘s involvement in motorsport dates back to the 1930s, when the company was still called Auto Union.
After 50 years of hits and misses, Audi finally struck gold in the 1980s when it invented Quattro, an all-wheel drive system that dominated the rally world for almost a decade.
The Quattro’s trajectory peaked in 1987, when Walter Röhrl won Pikes Peak with a record time.
Audi then decided to move on to Le Mans, where it also ran rings around its rivals.
With cars like the R8 and, later, the R18 e-tron Quattro, Audi won 13 times in 15 years.
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A new chapter for the brand
Like almost all ‘new’ F1 teams, Audi kick-started its new Formula 1 chapter using existing team assets acquired from defunct F1 teams.
In Audi’s case, it was Sauber.
Instead of building an entirely new operation, Audi bought into Sauber Motorsports, piece by piece, until it owned the whole thing.
However, they still needed to do the hard work to comply with new regulations.
The hybrid engine, the energy recovery system, and the battery unit – every component had to be designed from scratch for the new technical rules.
The biggest feat was probably aerodynamics, because Audi spent thousands of hours gathering airflow data, all to shave off fractions of a second, which can make all the difference in a race.
But the result is tangible: their new single-seater is around 55 percent more aerodynamic than an F1 car from 20 years ago.
And it only weighs 768kg.
As for the powertrain, Audi – like all other manufacturers – has to rely on a synthetic fuel-powered hybrid V6, which produces 470hp in total.
It’s going to be tough.
There are 24 races – for now – in a season, and you get 25 points per win, and each win requires a lot of hard work from a team of engineers, technicians, and – lest we forget – tacticians.
And it’s all not good enough anyway unless you also have a great driver that can actually score points.
On that front, Audi can count on Gabriel Bortoleto – a young and promising talent – and Nico Hülkenberg, a seasoned driver with over 250 F1 races to his name.
As per tradition, the 2026 F1 season is scheduled to start in Melbourne, Australia, on March 6, 2026.
After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.
