Audi F1 progress: Jonathan Wheatley “enormously encouraged” after Bahrain tests. Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley praises the team’s progress .

F1 | Audi making progress: Wheatley pleased after Bahrain tests

Audi made significant strides during the Bahrain tests. Team principal Jonathan Wheatley said he was “immensely encouraged” after a “cumbersome” start in Barcelona. The German squad completed 353 laps across the three test days, achieving the fifth-best total among all teams.

For Wheatley, the most important outcome wasn’t the lap times but how smoothly operations are finally running. “The most encouraging thing is the collaborative work environment developing in the garage,” said the former Red Bull sporting director.

“We are hitting problems with a hammer”

In Barcelona, Audi experienced several red flags due to reliability issues. Gabriel Bortoleto stopped after just 27 laps on the first day, while Nico Hulkenberg encountered problems on the third. Mattia Binotto had admitted to a “very, very long” list of issues to resolve.

“Those problems are still there, but we are hitting them with a hammer,” Wheatley explained. “We were the first team to bring this generation of cars to the track. We have developed our own power unit—not just the engine, but also the gearbox.”

The list of problems isn’t shrinking

When asked if Binotto’s long list of issues had shortened, Wheatley responded philosophically: “If it’s like my to-do list, it just keeps growing. You tick some off, but then add ten more because ambition drives you to look for ever-smaller margins.”

“In Barcelona, we seemed a bit cumbersome as an operation, in my eyes. Now everything is running smoothly.” Audi finished the Bahrain tests as the seventh-fastest team on track, 2.6 seconds behind Mercedes, who topped the timesheets.

The evolution of Audi’s trackside operations from their “clunky” Barcelona debut to a top-five mileage performance in Bahrain signals a team rapidly finding its feet under Jonathan Wheatley’s leadership. By “hitting problems with a hammer,” Audi is prioritizing structural reliability and operational flow—essential components for a manufacturer developing a brand-new power unit and gearbox in-house. While a 2.6-second gap to the frontrunners confirms that Audi isn’t yet ready to challenge the established elite, the collaborative spirit in the garage indicates that the “Four Rings” are building the necessary resilience for the long road ahead in Formula 1.