Audi has signed up Castrol/bp as its first official partner ahead of its 2026 F1 return, with the company to provide it with fuel and lubricants.
As it readies itself for the eventual 2026 return, Audi has signed up its first official partner in the form of Castrol/bp, who will provide it with sustainable fuel and lubricants. In fact, the two have been working on the project for the past two years already.
Castrol/bp currently provides sustainable fuel and lubricants to Renault/Alpine in F1 and as things stand, they will have two teams on the grid from 2026 onward – provided the deal with the French manufacturer continues on beyond the 2025 season.
As of now, Sauber uses the Zero Petroleum product – a company founded by former engineer, Paddy Lowe. But from 2026 onward, Castrol/bp will be forefront in terms of branding as well, having signed up a multi-year sponsorship deal with Audi.
They intent to promote the Aral brand – famous in Germany – with this new deal. Castrol/bp are not new to Audi, as they have a long-standing partnership in other forms of racing, whether it is WEC or DTM or Formula E. “Audi and bp have always worked together successfully in motorsport,” said Andreas Seidl. “We are delighted that we can take this special partnership to the next level in Formula 1.
“Audi stands for ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ and bp and Castrol also aspire to deliver the best technologies in the field of fuels and lubricants. This is a perfect match. It is a strong signal for Audi’s future F1 factory team that we have been able to establish this partnership at such an early stage. We sense the appeal of the Audi F1 Project and how many renowned companies want to work with Audi in Formula 1.”
At the same time, Nicola Buck, SVP marketing, bp, noted: “We are proud that Audi has once again chosen to partner with bp and Castrol, this time for their entry into Formula 1. It gives our premium brands the opportunity to showcase our technical expertise at the pinnacle of motorsport. We are already making great progress with the Audi F1 Project on the development of the bp fuel and Castrol lubricants as we seek to innovate and unlock maximum engine performance for the Audi F1 Power Unit from 2026.”
And finally, Adam Baker, CEO Audi Formula Racing GmbH, added: “This partnership is of great importance to us. There will be strong competition in the field of sustainable fuels in Formula 1 from 2026. In view of the high performance potential, it was important for us to start our fuel testing at the end of 2022 with bp as our partner.
“The combustion process is highly complex and can only be optimized by developing the engine in combination with the fuel properties. That’s why at Audi Formula Racing where we are well advanced with Audi’s F1 power unit development, we use all three single-cylinder test benches allowed by the FIA regulations intensively for fuel development.
“It is impressive how many different fuel variants we have developed to date as we prepare for our 2026 race season. I am convinced that we are perfectly positioned with bp and Castrol.”
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