Audi saves major ADUO upgrade for 2027
"It worked well and helped us move forward"
Audi will not exploit every available ADUO development opportunity this season, after making a stronger-than-expected start to its Formula 1 project.
Race director Allan McNish says the next major power unit upgrade will wait until 2027, with Audi instead preserving resources under the budget regulations.
"We used ADUO to implement small improvements in Barcelona right away," said the former Toyota driver.
"It worked well and helped us move forward. A bigger update will likely be for 2027."
"Therefore, we won’t see any major changes to the power unit until then."
McNish said Audi must balance immediate gains against its longer-term program.
"We can’t use up all our funds at once. If we did, we wouldn’t have any reserves left to fight afterward."
"That’s why we have to manage our expectations."
McNish, also a former Audi endurance driver, is nevertheless satisfied with the team’s first 11 races.
"We are currently still in the midfield and the gap to the top teams is large, but considering that we have only eleven Grands Prix behind us, I think the midfield is a fine starting position."
Former Haas boss Gunther Steiner believes Audi’s progress will eventually make its seats highly attractive.
"Audi is quite an interesting destination, because they are making good progress," he said on the Red Flags podcast.
"I therefore think there would be quite a few candidates if a seat becomes available. You can bet Carlos Sainz will come forward."
Steiner also thinks George Russell may eventually look beyond Mercedes.
"He doesn’t want to be stuck with Kimi (Antonelli) for the rest of his life, because then he knows he will only be playing second fiddle," he said.
"So he is looking for new opportunities."