Audi is planning a major expansion of its Swiss headquarters to host a new building where the brand-new simulator will be installed, alongside offices for the technical department and a dedicated space for carbon parts production. It’s easy to understand why it will take time before the team can realistically think about winning races.
At its Berlin event, Audi officially announced its new role in Formula 1. No longer a customer team running Ferrari engines, the German manufacturer is now a constructor with ambitions to fight for the World Championship. The transformation has been planned well in advance, but the full metamorphosis is still far from complete.
The four-ringed team was originally structured as a triangle: Hinwil in Switzerland, hosting the chassis design, wind tunnel, and vehicle management; Audi Powertrain in Neuburg, where the power units are developed; and finally the British hub in Bicester, where new technical staff joining the team under Mattia Binotto can be temporarily accommodated. The first requirement, therefore, is to provide communication areas where these different groups can interact in real time.
It may seem surprising, but the facility with the greatest need for renovation is the Swiss base in Hinwil, the historic center of the motorsport hub. Speaking on the matter is Mattia Binotto, head of the Audi F1 project, who acknowledges that the current infrastructure near Zurich needs modernization and lacks the space required to meet all the demands of a full factory team.
While the wind tunnel only needs an update, and remains an extremely valuable tool alongside the supercomputer, there is a clear need for space to install a more modern simulator.
“I think Neuburg has everything we need,” Mattia Binotto explains. “It’s an excellent facility designed for power unit management: we have all the test benches and the necessary space. At Hinwil, on the other hand, we lack space. We have ordered a brand-new simulator, but it needs a proper building because it’s very large. So we have to construct one.”
“The team also has other requirements,” Binotto continues, “because composite parts need to be produced in-house to improve speed, quality, and cost efficiency given the budget gap. So we need to expand production. Not only that, but we also need more space for the technical offices, which means expanding our buildings starting from the Campus.”
From Mattia Binotto’s statements, it’s easy to understand why Audi has launched a five-year plan to fight for the World Championship without seeking shortcuts. The RS26 will represent Audi on track: the initial goal is to finish Grand Prix and develop the power unit to challenge the constructors that have always dominated F1, while consolidating results will require a facility comparable to the best rivals—and that will take time.
How long? It’s difficult to predict, but the German team’s ambition is to need fewer than five years—a timeframe that wasn’t enough for Alpine.
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