F1 boss warns several teams could struggle to meet key 2026 regulation

Audi F1 technical director James Key has suggested that several teams could fall short of a new FIA requirement ahead of the 2026 season.

Formula 1 is heading into a major reset in 2026, with sweeping changes to both power unit regulations and aerodynamic design rules reshaping the grid.

As a result, teams are racing to be ready in time, with just nine days of pre-season testing available for all outfits to fine-tune their new cars before the campaign gets underway.

Audi are one of two new names on the F1 grid - alongside Cadillac - but Audi have the benefit of having taken over an already established team in Sauber at the end of last year.

This means that a lot of the team were already in place, including Key, team principal Jonathan Wheatley, and drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, compared to Cadillac who had to hire 5000 staff members throughout 2025.

The 2026 cars are smaller, lighter, narrower and more nimble than in 2025, and the new weight limit was reduced by 30kg in the new sporting regulations.

"It's a really tough goal," Key told Auto Motor und Sport. "I'm not sure if everyone will achieve it, we don't even know for sure ourselves yet.

"The car we've been driving so far still had a lot of sensors on board. I hope we can get close to the limit."

Will Audi beat Sauber's 2025 points tally in 2026?

Whereas Cadillac have already admitted that they will likely be running plum last in 2026, Audi's goals are less defined in the short term.

They want to become world champions by 2030, an ambitious goal which probably starts with them attempting to be in the same position that Sauber were last year, regular points scorers.

The condensed midfield of 2025 meant that Sauber finished down in ninth in the constructors' standings, but they did pick up 70 points and secured a grand prix podium.

That points tally would have seen them finish sixth in 2024, and a comfortable seventh in 2023, and a similar tally would surely be seen as a success for Audi's first season as a team and power unit manufacturer.

When does the 2026 F1 season start?

The 2026 F1 season gets underway on Friday, March 6, at the Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix.

FP1 will mark the first session of the season at 12:30pm local time (1:30am GMT), while qualifying will get underway on Saturday, March 7 at 4pm local time (5am GMT). Lights out for the first grand prix of the year is at 3pm local time (4am GMT).

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