Audi Formula 1 chief Mattia Binotto has expressed confidence in his team’s chassis development, asserting that the German manufacturer possesses the fourth-best chassis on the current grid despite their struggles in other areas. Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, the former Ferrari team principal revealed that GPS telemetry analysis and driver feedback support this assessment, placing Audi behind only Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren in terms of chassis performance while Red Bull maintains the second-best engine package.
“I’m very pleased by the chassis,” Binotto explained. “Even discussing that with drivers, not only GPS telemetry analysis. First, we got a good correlation with the wind tunnel and the simulator. That’s in terms of platform from the engineering, that was the most important thing.” The Italian engineer emphasized that their car demonstrates strong cornering capabilities, describing the chassis performance as “an outstanding result” for what was previously the Sauber team.
However, Binotto acknowledged that Audi’s power unit remains their primary weakness, with reliability issues plaguing both drivers throughout the current campaign. The team has suffered technical problems at the Australian and Chinese grands prix, preventing drivers from taking the start. Gabriel Bortoleto’s ninth-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix represents their strongest result to date, while the team currently sits ninth in the constructors’ championship standings.
The Audi boss highlighted that their engine development timeline extends to 2028, when the manufacturer expects to significantly reduce the performance gap to established power unit suppliers. Binotto noted that while Audi’s engine struggles are understandable given their newcomer status, Red Bull Powertrains’ immediate competitiveness upon entering Formula 1 as a power unit manufacturer was particularly impressive and unexpected in the industry.