Audi has shared an update on the Competence Center at its Neuburg facility which is being expanded to house their F1 project from 2026 onward.
While the F1 circus continues to move on from the 2022 season to 2023, the off-track work at Audi also continues to be ready for its 2026 entry with Sauber. Its Neuburg facility is being expanded and readied to house the power unit production.
With the partnership with Sauber, thankfully Audi doesn’t have to work much on its race operations side which will be housed at its Swiss facility in Hinwill. Over at Neuburg, the construction work has begun which will measure around 3000 square meters.
The Competence Center already houses all of the factory and customer racing operations, with the current big project outside F1 being the Dakar machine apart from the Formula E and DTM cars. The power unit off-track development will continue at the site.
Audi aims for first on-track test in 2025. “With the Competence Center Motorsport, we have an ideal base for our Formula 1 project,” said Oliver Hoffmann. “Audi Neuburg was designed from the outset to be able to tackle the most demanding motorsport projects. This foresight is paying off.
“With the existing facilities, we were able to immediately begin with the Formula 1 project. The expansion will create the necessary infrastructure for the development of our F1 power unit for the long term. With the building extension and the installation of state-of-the-art test benches, we are giving our development team the best possible conditions to be successful in the top class of motorsport.”
The expanded building is being named as F7.2 at the south-western end of the existing building which is connected to the main F7 building. In addition to the test benches for the F1 power unit, the building will have technical rooms and a mechanical workshop.
The aim is to have about workplaces for 60 people and to complete the building in the first quarter of 2024. However, a part of the building is likely to be put into operation in March of 2023. In terms of personnel, Audi have recruited 220 employees.
The goal is to have more than 300 people working on the project by mid-2023. “Developing a power unit for the world’s most demanding racing series in Germany is a great challenge,” said Adam Baker. “We already have a great team at our facility in Neuburg an der Donau that is growing all of the time.”
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