The new Audi Formula 1 team has set its sights on winning a world championship by 2030 after revealing its 2026 race livery at a launch event in Berlin on Tuesday evening.
Audi will make its F1 debut this year following a takeover of the Swiss Sauber team in 2025, and will produce its own power units out of a facility in Neuburg an der Donau, Germany.
Last year’s Sauber drivers — Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto — will remain at the team in 2026 following the rebranding.
Audi used Tuesday’s event to unveil its 2026 livery, which features sponsor names added to the concept livery it first showed in November last year.
It also used its 2026 press pack to launch “Mission 2030,” which states the team’s goal is to “win championships by 2030.”
The five-year plan seems ambitious after Sauber finished ninth in last year’s constructors’ standings, but a quote from Audi Motorsport CEO and chairman, Gernot Döllner, appeared to clarify the target by saying the team’s “aim” was to “fight” for titles by 2030.
“Today marks more than a launch; it marks the public declaration of a new era for Audi,” Döllner said. “Formula 1 is the most demanding stage in the world of motorsport, and we are here not just to compete, but to define the future of ‘Vorsprung durch Technik.’
“This project is a catalyst for our entire company, a symbol of our transformation towards a more performance-driven, efficient, and innovative culture. Our philosophy is one of absolute, long-term commitment.
“We understand that success in Formula 1 demands relentless perseverance and Audi Revolut F1 Team is not here to make up the numbers; we aim to be fighting for the World Championship by 2030.”
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Audi’s 2026 car, named the R26, has already taken to the track during a filming day at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Jan. 9. Despite the R26’s relatively early debut, which took place behind closed doors, the images released by the team for Tuesday’s launch were of a generic show car in the new Audi livery rather than the real R26.
Teams are under no obligation to present their actual car at launch events, although all 10 are due to take part in a closed-doors test next week at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Media will then be present at two further tests in Bahrain before the first race of the season gets underway in Australia on March 8.
The underlying livery on display in Berlin was almost unchanged from a concept launched by the team last November, save for the addition of the team’s sponsors and four-ring branding. Audi claims the combination of silver, bare carbon fibre, and ‘Lava Red’ represents “clarity, technology, intelligence, and emotion.”
Former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, who was appointed as the head of the Audi F1 project midway through 2024, believes the team, which is split over three sites including a satellite base in Bicester, United Kingdom, is well placed to work towards its 2030 target.
“The strategic decision to enter Formula 1 as a full works team is our single greatest asset,” Binotto said. “We have spent the last few years meticulously building not just a power unit in Neuburg but laying the foundations for a technical organisation that binds our chassis development in Hinwil and Bicester.
“This seamless integration gives us total control over our destiny, eliminating compromises and enabling a level of agility and innovation that is essential for success. This is what makes Audi Revolut F1 Team one vision, controlling every variable from the engine block to the front wing. This is the foundation upon which championships are built.”
Team principal Jonathan Wheatley added: “This car is the physical embodiment of thousands of hours of hard work from a hugely talented group of people across our facilities.
“Today, we start this journey with immense pride, but also with humility. This is just day one of a long campaign. Our mission is to embed a championship DNA into every fibre of this team.
“A culture of resilience, precision, and relentless curiosity where we stop at nothing to find performance. For everyone here, the excitement comes from this challenge: to build a team that gets stronger with every lap, every debrief, and every race. We will turn our long-term ambition into on-track reality, day by day, decision by decision.”
