Audi says its decision to build a different engine to fellow Volkswagen Group manufacturer Porsche for its Formula 1 entry was made to help better integration with different chassis.
The German car manufacturer finally confirmed its F1 entry for 2026 at the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday,
revealing it would be designing and manufacturing its own power unit from its base at Neuburg. It is set to tie up with Sauber,
but no final announcement has been made on that plan.
Audi's decision to do its own power unit has raised some intrigue, because sister manufacturer Porsche,
which is expected to announce its entry with Red Bull in the next few weeks,
will be tying up with the Milton Keynes-based squad to run its own engine too.
It means that parent company VW will have to fund two separate engine development programmes – which will be much most costly than them sharing designs and rebadging them.
Speaking about the decision to have separate projects,
Audi’s chairman of the board Markus Deusmann said that there had been lengthy discussions within the company about whether or not to pool engine resources with Porsche.