Huge Audi milestone revealed as F1 2026 car reveal tease imminent

Henry Valantine 06 Nov 2025 4:33 PM

Audi will be joining the grid in 2026, having initially announced its entry back in 2022.

Audi F1 is set to make a big reveal prior to its arrival on the grid in the 2026 season, with the reveal of its first-ever concept car.

The team’s official website houses a countdown clock to the “next step” in its journey to Formula 1, with this concept car is likely to carry a colour scheme the German brand could run next year, for November 12th at 8pm GMT.

Audi F1 counting down to concept car reveal

With the upcoming reveal being a concept car, there are unlikely to be any design clues revealed, but it should offer an insight into what a 2026 Formula 1 car could look like next season.

Early renders of an Audi Formula 1 car had been revealed when the brand announced its entry into Formula 1 back in 2022, but the brand’s work is a matter of months away from coming to fruition in 2026, with huge regulation changes ahead.

Audi will be completing its full takeover of the Sauber F1 operation next season, with the team’s existing Hinwil base set to be used alongside a facility in Germany, with its Neuberg operation in the process of finalising the team’s power unit design for 2026.

A recent report from Italy had suggested the Audi power unit – the first the brand is producing in Formula 1 – may potentially be slightly down on power compared to the rumoured maximum output of its Mercedes counterpart, though these figures will be difficult to substantiate until pre-season testing begins in January.

Team principal Jonathan Wheatley affirmed that the team’s power unit is in the final development phase, focusing on reliability, with Audi not just joining as a chassis manufacturer, but its own power unit production making the operation its own factory team.

“At the moment, we’re looking to be firing up on schedule, which is fantastic news,” Wheatley recently told Formula1.com.

“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.

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“We’ve got a great big challenge ahead of us, changing the narrative, creating the Audi Formula 1 team. It’s an exciting period.”

There are still behind-the-scenes goings-on as the team prepares for its full arrival onto the Formula 1 grid, with Wheatley having spoken about the team’s approach to promoting from within and bringing in external hires as it looks to hit the ground running next season.

Audi will have an existing infrastructure with which to work from the Sauber operation, but will look to add its own expertise in trying to bring the brand to the front of Formula 1.

“It’s something that we’re assessing as a senior management team on a on a weekly basis,” Wheatley said of the team’s recruitment in Singapore.

“We have a very ambitious target ahead of us, and the roadmap to get there means both bringing in external talent, new into the business, but also having the right balance of that, identifying the people within the business that may be the hidden gems.

“The people that could be supported into the next stage in their career, and then putting in the plans to build in strength and depth, which is to bring in young talent, guide that talent, train it, and have systems in place so that people can come into the company and work their way through to senior positions.

“This is the challenge Formula 1 teams have faced for years. It’s even more the case under cost cap, because you just can’t just go out and throw a big number salary at somebody.”

The concept car release will give a hint into how the first Audi Formula 1 car might look, though there is no confirmation as yet on when the team will officially launch its 2026 challenger.