Audi Stresses Reliability Focus After Troubles in Barcelona Testing

[Source: Racing News 365]

The Audi Revolut F1 Team wrapped up their first week of testing in Barcelona and it proved why Audi stressed patience as the team got its footing. Reliability concerns plagued the team all week and according to a report by Racing News 365, Audi F1 boss Mattia Binotto knows how critical it is to get those issues resolved before Australia.

On Monday the team completed just 27 laps, before they were able to run again on Thursday and Friday. We all want Audi to do well this year, but we also have to be realistic and understand that 2026 will be a learning year for the team.

“I would sum up that there is a lot to learn, and we are learning a lot. If you look at the very first day, [there were] a lot of problems stopping us, slowing down our run plan, as well on day two. Finally, I would say today, after day two afternoon, having some good running. There were some problems this morning, but still some mileage done, some laps done, valuable data for the team,” said Binotto.

2026 is going to be all about that precious data. With each lap the team runs, they will learn more about the car and the power unit. We should not expect podiums in the first races. But we want to see the team turning as many laps as possible to learn as much as quickly as possible so they can meet their target of competing for a championship in 2030.

“The reliability is always very critical. We had several problems – small ones, not dramatic – but there are a lot of positives and we are looking forward,” Binotto explained. The good news is more testing time is to come before the first race. On February 11, the team will be running in Bahrain to gather more data. The first race weekend is just over one month away.