Audi F1 team 'resistant' to 2027 commitment as $10 million issue emerges

Mattia Binotto, Audi, Bahrain, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Audi F1 team 'resistant' to 2027 commitment as $10 million issue emerges

The FIA have been tweaking the current regulations

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 25 May 2026 08:15

Audi F1 team are reportedly 'resistant' to the new rules posed by the FIA for the 2027 season.

You may already know the FIA plans to take F1 engines away from the 50-50 split between the internal combustion engine and electrical power. You may also know that as soon as 2027, we will see a split closer to 60-40 in favour in the ICE.

You may not know, however, how the FIA plan to do this. To make this a reality, the fuel flow rate will have to increase. Which means teams will have to run more fuel during races, which then requires bigger fuel tanks for 2027.

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The problem with this? If you want to use your current chassis next year, you can't. Your fuel tank isn't big enough. So the FIA may have to open the cost cap up to allow teams to develop a new, bigger, more accommodating chassis.

But isn't that the antithesis to the reason these new regulations were introduced in the first place; to become more sustainable?

The FIA have placed themselves in a frustrating conundrum. Do they please teams or do they focus on sustainability? Or is there an option that will make teams happy, but remain aligned with their current ethos?

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Could shorter races solve FIA engine problem?

It's recently been reported that the FIA floated the idea of shortening the length of races, but only at the circuits most demanding on fuel consumption.

Now, we're not talking about a major cull here. A 57-lap race won't suddenly transform into the distance of a sprint. In fact, the FIA are only talking about a minimal one or two laps here.

Alongside this, the FIA have also proposed a limit on the number of laps from the pits to the grid at the start, and drivers could be limited to a single lap prior. So, it's all sorted, right?

Because this new 60-40 split means manufacturers and teams will have to revamp hardware, it could be costly and it's said the extra financial expenditure could cost up to $10million.

For some manufacturers, this is too much, with Audi - who exist in F1 as a constructor and power unit manufacturer - understood to be resistant to any extra spending at present.

Once again, the FIA's recent propositions show that tweaking the new regulations isn't simple, particularly if they want to keep all the teams happy.

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