Audi confirms no further F1 power unit upgrades until 2027 as budget cap shapes strategy

Audi will not upgrade its Formula 1 power unit again in 2026, racing director Allan McNish confirmed, with the next meaningful hardware step now earmarked for the 2027 season. The decision is driven by the sport’s budget cap, which forces teams to carefully manage spending across both chassis and power unit development over multiple seasons.

Having taken over the Sauber squad and introduced its first F1 engine project this year, Audi struggled to trouble the top 10 in the early rounds. A power unit upgrade at the Barcelona Grand Prix marked a turning point, with Nico Hülkenberg describing the gains as focused on “driveability mostly” — addressing a recognised weakness in the R26’s torque delivery and throttle response.

The improvement has been tangible. Audi has scored points in three consecutive rounds, with Gabriel Bortoleto contributing eight and Hülkenberg two, lifting the team above Williams into eighth in the constructors’ championship.

When asked when the next powertrain update would arrive, McNish was direct: “It’ll be next year.” He elaborated on the reasoning: “Everybody has got this trade-off between when you’re bringing upgrades — chassis and PU — and also where you spend your money. Because you can’t spend everything at one time, because then you don’t have anything to fight with later. So it’s got to be a managed expectation, and not just over one season, but multiple seasons as well.”

McNish confirmed that while chassis upgrades will continue in the second half of 2026, the power unit programme is now firmly focused on 2027. “The bigger parts are for 2027. So we will not see anything big on the power unit until then,” he said. “It’s more hardware than anything, and that’s not a quick thing to change.”

Asked how large a step the 2027-spec unit would represent, McNish was characteristically measured. “That’s ‘27. Give us a break. We’re only halfway through ‘26,” he said. “You’ve got where you’re going, but it’s also relative to the competition. We’re always benchmarking against the competition, and how quickly they move, and how quickly we can evolve.”

Hülkenberg offered further insight into what the Barcelona upgrade actually delivered, explaining at Spa-Francorchamps that the changes were subtle but significant at the limit. “It is about what you request on the pedal, but how the PU responds, how the torque delivery is — does it surge, is it consistent, is it smooth? It is very fine stuff,” he said. “You need to have experience to feel it.”

The confirmation that no further power unit hardware is coming in 2026 sets clear expectations for Audi’s ceiling this season, while signalling that the team views 2027 — when new technical regulations also come into force — as the more meaningful benchmark for its long-term F1 ambitions.