Audi's F1 shakedown: What we did (and didn't) learn

On the other hand, this was a stage-managed performance. Who knows what version of the car actually ran in Spain? We don’t usually see the final spec cars until Melbourne, and many teams are still testing more than one concept—Ferrari said so publicly just a few days ago. 

Inevitably, the lack of transparent coverage around the event also led to social media deepfakes. Apparently AI-generated photos were said to show the Audi R26 in action but, on closer inspection, these were clearly mock-ups based on last year’s cars. 

Let’s start with the positives. Audi’s new engine seemingly ran flawlessly for 200 kilometers over the weekend. F1’s new ruleset means all the teams are entering the unknown this year, so there’s no guarantee that others will have the same level of reliability. It’s a good start! 

Both drivers got a few laps under their belts, so that box got ticked too! Beyond these achievements, it was basically just a filming day. Fans were shown what Audi wanted them to see, and all the hard work is still to come in testing and beyond. We still don’t know what was happening under that black bodywork and won’t for some time. 

Audi isn’t the first to use a camouflage livery (who can forget the glorious camo Red Bulls we’ve seen over the years?), and it won’t be the last. Teams are notoriously sensitive about giving away secrets to competitors—before and during the F1 season. 

At launch events, they’ve even taken to unveiling liveries rather than cars. We had some fun rating last year’s liveries, but we'd have preferred to see the real contenders. 

This time out, F1 is allowing teams even more secrecy. Full pre-season testing will be held behind closed doors in Barcelona. Fans won’t even be able to tune in on TV. Nothing will be allowed to harm the brands taking part. Teams will be allowed to warm up in private. But you can bet there will be more fuzzy cam business and a touch of AI. 

F1 cars enjoyed record-breaking reliability over the last two seasons. But there’s a good chance this will come to a screeching halt next year. We saw that in 2014. Not only are there new rules to throw a cat among the pigeons, Audi and Ford are joining from a standing start (and Honda are switching to Aston Martin). 

In F1’s last “engine formula” from 2014-2021, Mercedes arguably dominated due to engine superiority. Honda and McLaren’s reunion was a catastrophe, and Renault suffered a deficit in horsepower right up until last year—next season Alpine are switching to Mercedes PUs. 

Amid speculation that 2026 will be another engine-critical year, mileage will be a KPI when we finally get a glimpse of the cars in Sakhir from February 11-13. At that point, there’ll be no hiding a blowout in front of the cameras. And then we’ll get an idea of how the cars handle, overtake, and blast down the circuit’s high-speed straights. 

Until then, it’s fun to speculate about each team’s preparation. But let’s stay wary of fakes in the modern world of AI and remind ourselves that it’s not even pre-season yet!