TEAM PREVIEW: Audi – All you need to know about the team ahead of the 2026 F1 season

In their final season under their former guise, Kick Sauber ended 2025 in ninth place of the Teams’ Championship – but it was arguably a stronger season than that result would suggest, with the squad scoring decent points and gaining momentum through the campaign. Can they carry that forwards into their new era as Audi? Here’s the lowdown on the team ahead of the 2026 season…

Drivers for 2026

Nico Hulkenberg #27: 1 podium, 1 pole position, 622 points, 251 starts
Gabriel Bortoleto #5: Best finish of P6, 19 points, 24 starts

After fielding an all-new line-up in 2025, Audi have retained that pairing into the new campaign, with the experienced Nico Hulkenberg again joining forces with the young Gabriel Bortoleto.

Hulkenberg enters into the season off the back of reaching a long-awaited milestone last year, having memorably clinched his first-ever podium on the 239th time of asking at the British Grand Prix. The German will be hoping for further accolades as he prepares for his 13th full-time season in the sport.

On the other side of the garage, Bortoleto carried much promise when he arrived as a rookie in 2025 following his back-to-back championship wins in F2 and F3. The Brazilian went on to enjoy a decent first year in Formula 1, collecting points on five occasions including a best finish of P6 in Hungary.

How did Audi do in 2025?

Following a very tough outing for the team in 2024 – in which they scored points just once, courtesy of Zhou Guanyu at the penultimate race of the season – the only way was up for Kick Sauber in 2025, their last campaign under the name before transitioning to Audi in 2026.

Fortunately things did quickly improve, with Hulkenberg claiming points at the chaotic season-opener in Australia – and while this preceded a tough run of point-less finishes, the squad hit their stride again midway through the championship, the highlight of which being Hulkenberg’s long-awaited rostrum at Silverstone.

There were also good results for Bortoleto, who took his maiden F1 points with a P8 in Austria on a weekend in which the outfit scored double points. In a closely-fought midfield, the team’s final tally of 70 left them in P9 of the standings – but only nine adrift of Haas in P8.

Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley – who took up his new role in April – hailed the campaign as an “extraordinary” one for the squad, adding: “The progress this team has made this year is significant and provides us with real momentum heading into 2026.”

History

Sauber Motorsport was formed back in 1970 by Peter Sauber. After stints in hillclimbing and endurance racing – which included becoming Mercedes-Benz’s works team and winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the team made their way to F1 in 1993.

The squad raced under the Sauber name until 2005, when their moniker became BMW Sauber after the German manufacturer acquired a major shareholding stake in the team. They later reverted to the Sauber title between 2011 and 2018.

A partnership with Alfa Romeo then saw the outfit run under the name of the Italian car manufacturer through to the close of 2023, while their rebrand as Kick Sauber between 2024 and 2025 became the final use of the Sauber name before the team’s transition into Audi’s works outfit in 2026.

This marks the German brand’s F1 debut as a constructor and power unit manufacturer, with their headquarters spread across the power unit division in Neuburg, Germany, the chassis team in Hinwil, Switzerland, and the new Technical Centre in Bicester, UK.

Greatest achievement

After ending the 2005 season in eighth place of the Teams’ Championship, Sauber’s partnership with BMW quickly brought an upturn in their fortunes, with the squad climbing up to fifth in 2006 before reaching a record P2 one year later.

Having claimed several podiums across those two campaigns, things got even better in 2008 when the team scored a breakthrough victory courtesy of Robert Kubica, who led home team mate Nick Heidfeld for a 1-2 result at the Canadian Grand Prix.

While Kubica headed the Drivers’ Standings after that win, his and the team’s hopes of a championship bid faded as the season wore on amid resources being diverted to the 2009 regulation changes.

One key goal for 2026

Audi have made no secret of their big long-term ambitions in Formula 1; Mattia Binotto, Head of the Audi F1 Project, has stated that the squad are “aiming to win a championship by 2030”, a goal that they are utilising plenty of resource in trying to reach.

When it comes to the short-term, however, the target is slightly more modest. Given the introduction of new technical regulations in the season ahead, the pecking order remains uncertain entering into the campaign.

As such, Wheatley says that the team have been given a “very realistic set of targets” by the Audi board, adding: “Our target really is to keep building on this momentum, which we started this year. We need to carry that through – and that will make us championship challengers at the end of the decade.”

With Hulkenberg set to bring his extensive experience into the season, while Bortoleto will look to build on his rookie outing as he enters his sophomore campaign, the hope will be that last year’s successes can continue into 2026.