Audi won’t know where its 2026 car is “until everyone pulls down their pants”

Nico Hulkenberg says Audi won’t know where it is in the pecking order with its 2026 Formula 1 car until “everyone pulls down their pants” in Australian Grand Prix qualifying.

The German manufacturer makes its long-awaited debut in F1 as a works entry, after taking over the former Sauber outfit.

Audi didn’t show any standout lap times across pre-season testing this winter, though it did turn heads in Bahrain last week when it brought a major upgrade package following the Barcelona shakedown.

Nico Hulkenberg felt last week that Audi wasn’t far from being involved in the midfield battle this year, though admits that is “just speculation” right now.

“I certainly feel we’ve made some very good progress from Barcelona to where we are today,” he began.

“Definitely some positives there, but still early days. There’s always more to do, more to work on, more to optimise.

“It’s very much a work in progress, learn as we go, do our homework as best as we can and go racing.

“It’s just speculation right now, still. I think we really don’t know until Melbourne, and even a few races in because I feel at the moment it can be quite track-dependent, how your package feels on different circuits.

“So, we’ll have to wait and see until everyone pulls their pants down in qualy and we’ll find out.

“But the team has been working hard over the winter, obviously pushing all the areas, being new into the power unit side, doing that for the first time, I think it has been busy and a challenge.

“I think we are ok, but there is still a lot of work and a lot of room for improvement on that side and a lot to come.

“So, early days. I hope we are competitive, somewhere in the midfield right now, but let’s see in a few weeks.”

Gabriel Bortoleto was the lead Audi driver on the final day of the second Bahrain test, the F1 sophomore seventh with a 1m33.755s.

Hulkenberg was 15th after taking to the Audi in the opening session of the day.