Wheatley brushes off Audi power-unit whispers: “We’re firing up on schedule”
Audi’s Jonathan Wheatley isn’t in the mood to panic. Amid a swirl of reports suggesting Neuburg’s first Formula 1 power unit is short of firepower compared to Mercedes ahead of the 2026 rules, the Audi team principal says the plan remains intact — and on time.
“Power unit is in the final stage of development, which is a reliability phase,” Wheatley told F1.com. “Chassis is on track. At the moment, we’re looking to be firing up on schedule, which is fantastic news. The first time an Audi Formula 1 car, engine and chassis have come together. I can’t tell you how excited I am about that.”
The backdrop is obvious: any time F1 pivots to a new chapter, the whispers get louder. For 2026, five manufacturers will power the grid — Audi, Honda, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Ford — and the speculation machine is already rattling away over who’s nailed the new hybrid split, and who hasn’t. An Italian report this week pegged Audi as as much as 31bhp down on Mercedes, citing indicative figures of around 571bhp for the Stuttgart unit versus 540–550bhp for Audi’s early numbers.
Wheatley, six months into the job at the Sauber-run operation that’ll become Audi’s full works team next year, didn’t so much swat the headlines away as refuse to bite. The message was steady: work the process, keep the timelines, don’t talk yourself into corners.
“We’ve got a great big challenge ahead of us, changing the narrative, creating the Audi Formula 1 team,” he said. “It’s an exciting period.”
There was also a dose of perspective when the 2014 spectre — one power unit maker miles ahead — was raised. “I’m minded to look back to 2014,” Wheatley said. “There was the field spread you mentioned and clearly one power unit manufacturer had done a very, very good job. But now look at us out here. Look how tight the championship is this year.”
He’s right about 2025 being a knife-edge season; margins have been microscopic up and down the midfield. And that, in turn, is shaping the way Audi is thinking about year one under the new regs. Integration is the word — not just building a fast engine, but marrying it to a chassis from day one.
“We’re facing a not insignificant challenge — our first year as the Audi Formula 1 project. We have to introduce the chassis and powertrain together. It’s a big job,” Wheatley said. “It’s not straightforward making all of that stuff yourself — building a team around that, expanding — plus, the biggest change in technical regulations in my time in the sport.
“It’s a fantastic challenge. It’s one we’re very excited about. And I think it’s a bit too early to talk about racing yet. We need to see how these cars perform on the track. And Formula 1 is always throwing up surprises. You just never know what might happen.”
If you’re looking for tells between the lines, “reliability phase” is one. It suggests Audi’s concept is largely fixed for the initial sign-off, with the attention moving to durability, systems integration and those endless calibration loops that turn dyno output into lap time. In 2026, peak horsepower headlines won’t win you Sundays on their own; energy deployment windows, traction off low-speed corners and drag efficiency across the new aero spec will be where races are decided.
For now, Wheatley’s day job is less about the future and more about surviving the present. The Hinwil squad’s 2025 campaign has underlined just how ruthlessly tight F1 has become — one bobble in Q1 and you’re out, one scruffy out-lap and you’re staring at P17.
“I think the biggest challenge, given the margins are so tight, is to get both your drivers through to the next session in qualifying, to try to get both your drivers in the points,” he said. “The margins are so tight that the slightest little thing not going one driver’s way can mean an exit.
“Up till now, it’s been about really understanding the team, embedding in it, and trying to bring some changes which are positive, and to make those changes at the right moment. Because, honestly, I probably have a list with 1,000 things on it, and you can’t just do it all at once.”
That’s the tone from Audi for now: realistic, a touch guarded, and not remotely rattled. The stopwatch will have its say soon enough. But if you were waiting for signs of doubt from the newest works operation on the grid, Wheatley’s not offering any.
