In the round-up: Audi expects to be competing to wins by its third season in Formula 1.
In brief
Audi target F1 wins by 2028
Adam Baker, the CEO of Audi Formula Racing, says the manufacturer expects to be competing to wins by its third season in Formula 1. Audi will enter F1 in 2026 as power unit supplier to Sauber.
“We want to be competitive in three years,” Baker told AS. “It is a realistic goal. We want to compete for wins in the third year.
He admitted the manufacturer faces a “challenge” entering the sport in three years’ time, despite the change in power unit regulations which will give it an opportunity to compete with the front-running teams.
“It is attractive for Audi to enter 2026 because we decided on it ahead of time. We have 42 months until the first race. In the last 30 years, it must be one of the most advanced decisions of any manufacturer.
“In addition, in 2026 a regulatory cycle begins, when usually others have entered in the middle of a cycle. The power units will change, but also the chassis. In some ways, it can reset the advantage of experienced competitors in the past, and makes it easier for new builders to be competitive.”
Mercedes Formula E exit due to low viewership – Wolff
Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff says the manufacturer departed Formula E due to the viewing audience being too low for the investment put into the team.
Mercedes competed as a factory team in Formula E for three seasons between 2020 and 2022, winning both the teams and drivers’ championships in 2021 and 2022. Mercedes withdrew at the end of the 2022 season, with McLaren taking over the team for 2023.
Speaking to Swiatscigow, Wolff said that Formula 1 has become so popular it has “dwarfed” other series.
“I think that Formula 1 has become so big that everything else has been dwarfed,” Wolff said. “We were really happy, successful in DTM for over 30 years.
“But it has come to a point where the works team, if you wanted to compete, you need 40 or 50 million euros and the return on investment was too small for that. And it’s the same in Formula E. The audiences were just not good enough.
IndyCar’s COTA return dependent on ticket sales
Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein says any potential return by IndyCar will depend on if the series can generate enough tickets sales to make it viable.
The Austin circuit hosted IndyCar only once in 2019. Epstein says he would be happy to see the series return to the circuit, but IndyCar…
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