Audi’s first reality check: No short-term fix for one costly weakness

A sense of unease is beginning to settle over Audi’s fledgling Formula 1 campaign, as the team concedes that its most glaring flaw – poor race starts – will not be solved any time soon.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, both Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were swallowed up off the line, turning promising grid positions into immediate damage limitation.

It was a familiar, frustrating pattern – one that now threatens to define Audi’s early identity in the sport.

A weakness without a quick cure

Bortoleto did not hide the concern when reflecting on another botched getaway. Despite F1’s current five-week racing hiatus, the young Brazilian insisted that a quick fix is nowhere to be found.

“The start was not great, it’s something we know we need to work [on] as a team,” he said after last Sunday’s event.

“Both Nico and me dropped a lot and after that there were a few issues we had throughout the race and I couldn’t do much out there.”

The Audi charger’s assessment grew more stark as he peeled back the layers of the issue.

“The procedure is very similar to everyone. I think there is teams that have developed and worked the car in a different way to have better starts.

“It’s been terrible so far. We know it’s difficult for us and we need to improve on that.

“We can improve a bit, but not in the short term to get to the Ferraris. I think it's very difficult also with the Mercedes. I think we are still going to struggle a bit.”

Patience over panic

Acting Audi team principal Mattia Binotto, a man who knows the taste of success from his days at Ferrari, is under no illusions about the challenge that lies ahead for his team.

The reality is that the Hinwil squad’s struggles aren't just about a sticky clutch or a software glitch; they are deeply rooted in the long lead times of power unit development.

While the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) provide a lifeline, the gap to the frontrunners is measured in years, not weeks.

Binotto offered a sobering assessment of the team’s current predicament and their distant horizon for glory:

“It [Japan] has been a poor start,” he admitted. “And it's not the first time, so it's certainly not our strength. At the moment, the reason it has not been addressed so far is because it's not an obvious thing to be fixed.

“But on the other side, we know it's a top priority for us. Because, again, we had a good quali and not it’s worthwhile having starting good positions if we are losing all the positions at the start.”

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Behind the scenes, the challenge runs deeper than clutch maps or driver reaction times. Audi’s power unit – central to its long-term ambitions – remains a work in progress.

“The lead times on engine development are very long,” Binotto explained. “We have assessed, I believe, that most of the gap we got to the top teams is from the power unit, which is not unexpected. We knew that would have been the biggest challenge.

“And we have got a plan to recover. But engine development, especially when it comes to some concepts, can take longer. It's not by chance that we have set 2030 as our objective [for challenging for the world championship]. Because we know that it will take long. And I think what we need now is to be patient as well.

“We are very ambitious and we would like to see things solved in a couple of races. But sometimes that's not the case. So I think we need to understand exactly where we are as a team, what are the plans. And as well, stick to the plans. Because miracles are not possible.

“We are not here to create miracles. It's not us. We cannot do that. But we are here to have proper plans to address and to improve in the future. And I think that's also possible,” the Italian concluded.

For Audi, the message is clear – but hardly comforting. The road to the front is mapped out, yet the first steps remain stubbornly slow.

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