Audi Seeks Clean Final Day After Rocky Start to F1 Testing

Audi's first Formula 1 pre-season test has been hampered by reliability issues, cutting its first day short and limiting total mileage. While the team avoided a catastrophic failure, a smooth and productive final day in Barcelona is crucial to build confidence and essential data before the season opener.

Why it matters:

For a new works team with a brand-new power unit, every lap of testing is invaluable. Audi's engineers have no prior track data for their complex 2026 powertrain, making reliability and mileage the absolute priority over performance at this stage. A troubled start increases the pressure to prove the project's basic robustness ahead of its competitive debut.

The details:

• The shakedown began roughly, with the car stopping after just 27 laps on Day 1 for precautionary checks and then suffering a hydraulic leak early on Day 2, which driver Nico Hülkenberg called "a real basic thing."
• After fixing the leak, the team managed more productive running, with Hülkenberg completing 68 laps on Wednesday, bringing the two-day total to just under 100.
• Despite the recovery, Audi's cumulative mileage remains the lowest of any team that has run for two full days, trailing even Ferrari's single-day tally from Tuesday.
• Technical Director James Key emphasized the test's focus is purely mechanical and data-gathering, stating performance is a later priority and that the issues encountered were not unexpected for such an immature car.

What's next:

The immediate goal is a trouble-free final day to collect maximum data and leave Barcelona with a positive feeling. The larger objective for the season is straightforward: get both cars to the finish in Melbourne without major dramas. A clean run on the last day of testing would be a significant step toward making that debut-race target feel achievable, setting a foundation for the long development road ahead.

summary: Audi's first F1 pre-season test has been challenging, with early reliability issues limiting crucial track time for its new power unit. The team needs a smooth final day to gather essential data and build confidence before its competitive debut in Melbourne, where simply finishing the race will be the primary goal.