Audi is in a solid midfield position on its Formula 1 debut, but still nowhere near the top: Project Manager Mattia Binotto reveals what the biggest weakness is at the moment
Audi has made a solid start to Formula 1: The former Sauber team scored its first world championship points at the season opener in Australia and was also in a stable midfield position in China and Japan. However, the Ingolstadt team is missing one thing in particular to make the leap to the top, namely a better engine.
“We realized that the biggest gap to the top teams was due to the drive unit, which was not unexpected,” admits Audi project manager Mattias Binotto and adds: “We knew that this would be the biggest challenge.”
While the team has already developed its own chassis in recent years, this experience was lacking when it came to the drive unit. Engine development was therefore one of the biggest hurdles and also explains why Audi is not yet able to fight for top positions.
Speed on the straights is Audi’s weakness
This deficit was also clearly evident in Japan. “If you don’t have the speed on the straights, you might use the energy to defend yourself,” explains Binotto. “But when the batteries are empty, there’s not much left. I think we have to look at the data very carefully.”
“We can’t jump to conclusions now,” warns the Italian, but at the same time makes it clear that there is “an issue with the energy” and “also with the way we use it”. This clearly identifies Audi’s biggest weakness: “Speed on the straights is not our strength at the moment,” emphasizes Binotto.
“If you use up your energy and drain your batteries as a result, you are extremely susceptible to being overtaken,” the former Ferrari team boss adds to the findings so far. “That’s part of our learning process in this first race.”
Binotto dampens expectations: “Know that it will take a long time”
The task now is to evaluate the data together with the drivers and understand how “such situations can best be defused”, says Binotto. At the moment, the focus is less on an immediate solution and more on mitigating the problems. “And then we’ll see what’s possible in the near future.”
However, there is initial cautious optimism. “We have a plan to catch up,” indicates the 56-year-old. “But engine development, especially for some concepts, can take longer. It is no coincidence that we have set ourselves the target of 2030.”
Even before the first race, Audi had declared that it wanted to fight for the world championship title from 2030. “We know it will take a long time,” added the project manager, who is currently acting in a dual role following the departure of team principal Jonathan Wheatley.
Binotto emphasizes: “Audi cannot perform miracles”
“And I think what we need now is patience,” Binotto warns against exaggerated expectations, even though the start to the season has been very positive from Audi’s point of view. “We are very ambitious and would like to solve the problems in a few races.”
“But sometimes that’s just not possible,” adds the Italian. “That’s why we have to understand exactly where we stand as a team, what the plans are. And we also have to stick to the plans. Because miracles are not possible. We are not here to perform miracles.”
“That’s not in our nature. We can’t do that,” emphasizes Binotto, who nevertheless remains confident. “We are here to have concrete plans, to tackle problems and to improve in the future. And I think that is also possible.”