Audi confident of progress despite disrupted Barcelona shakedown

If Audi can piece together a solid third and final day at the F1 2026 shakedown test in Barcelona, then the German marque will depart feeling “pretty pleased”.

That is the reveal made by Audi F1 technical director James Key, after what has been a disrupted shakedown at times so far for one of Formula 1’s two new 2026 teams.

Audi target good day to leave Barcelona ‘pretty pleased’

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Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto was the cause of one of three red flags on the first morning of the Barcelona shakedown, as the R26 came to a halt.

Audi confirmed to PlanetF1.com that Bortoleto had suffered a “technical issue” with his Audi challenger.

That restricted Audi to just 27 laps – as per unofficial sources – on the opening day.

Audi returned on Day 3, but there was an early stoppage as Nico Hulkenberg reportedly triggered the red flags. Audi did bounce back to complete 68 laps via Hulkenberg by the end of the day.

“This test is a prove out test of a very new car for everyone, of course, but particularly for us with a very new power unit as well, the first Audi power unit,” Key told the Formula 1 website.

“So, this is all about reliability and getting the fundamentals figured out.

“So I think, on that basis, although we had a little bit of delay, or quite a bit of delay in the end, actually, on the first day, for various reasons, which are all fixable, but this is why we test. We don’t want to be discovering this in Melbourne.

“Today [Wednesday] has shown some better progress. So we had a little delay this morning. It was a hydraulic leak, a real basic thing. But then this afternoon, we’ve got back on track, and we’ve done a lot of laps.

“So a step forward today, I think.”

Teams are permitted to run on three of the five days in Barcelona. That means Audi will use its third and final day on Friday, the last day of the shakedown.

Key was asked whether Audi is on track to complete everything targeted with one day on the Barcelona track to go.

“I think the really important stuff, yes. What we really needed to do is just get laps on the car,” he said.

“My colleagues in Neuburg on the power unit side have got no track reference data at all. This is the first time they’re actually going to get track data for their power unit and for the gearbox as well.

“So I think, really, it’s a case of doing that and beginning to tune all these complex energy recovery strategies and all the various other things that goes with the ’26 car.

“So at the moment, yes, I’d say on that basis, we’re on target.

“Of course, the list is never ending in terms of what you really want to do. But provided we can have a good third day, I think we’ll come away pretty pleased.”

More Barcelona shakedown talking points via PlanetF1.com

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Audi may not be troubling the top of the unofficial timing screens thus far in Barcelona, but that is not the goal, and at this stage, would be insignificant.

Asked if Audi has encountered any surprises, Key replied: “Nothing unexpected, actually.

“I think had we run faultlessly from the outset, that would have been a very pleasant surprise. We’re seeing plenty of red flags. It’s a very, very immature car at the moment for everyone.

“But nothing particularly surprising. Like I say, this is really a mechanical test. The performance will become the priority later.

“I think, for a first test like this, and again, particularly given our newness – I know that sort of the Red Bull teams have got a similar situation, with the new power unit – it’s very much focused internally at the moment.

“Of course, testing schedules and testing plans will all be totally different from one team to the other, so you can’t go comparing anything particularly. Certainly, it’s not a time to look at lap times at this stage. It’s all about the finer details.

“So, yeah, we can see that there’s laps going on by others, but we’re very, very focused on ourselves right now.”

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