'Brand new' Audi keeping ambitions in check ahead of F1 opener

MELBOURNE, March 5 : A quick morning run through Melbourne's parks and tree-lined boulevards is about the only free time Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley can allow himself as the rebooted Formula One outfit prepares for the Australian Grand Prix.

But even this small luxury has been ripped from his grasp by a logistical issue, with his running gear failing to ship in the right cargo.

Not that Wheatley is all that bothered, given the important things - cars, spare parts and staff - have arrived safely despite the logistical challenges brought by the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.

Like all F1 teams, Audi is grappling with the biggest overhaul of engine and chassis regulations in decades.

Unlike other teams, they are doing it while in the throes of transition as the outfit formerly known as Sauber.

Powered by Ferrari engines, Sauber finished ninth of 10 teams in the 2025 constructors championship but their tally of 70 points was their best since 2012.

Now, backed by Qatari sovereign wealth and powered by a new Audi-built engine, the team might have been expected to set the bar higher this season.

Wheatley, however, is tempering expectations ahead of the season-opener at Albert Park for what he describes as his "brand new" team.

"I think our ambitions coming into this race are a little different when knitting together a chassis and a powertrain team for the first time," he told Reuters.

"We've launched so many new initiatives over the winter, so much new equipment, so many new things to bed in and get used to.

"The team has to work with each other, build its strength, build its confidence together.

"So I think we're very much internally focused this weekend on trying to achieve the cleanest race that we can."

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