Audi's last GT3 car delivery marks the end of an era, but will F1 push be worth it?

OPINION: Audi is gearing up for its entry into Formula 1 as an engine supplier and a works team for 2026, having taken over the Sauber squad. But the development has come at the expense of its other highly successful racing programmes, a risk that may take time to bear reward

As Audi looks ahead to its ambitious Formula 1 project in 2026 with Sauber, it is simultaneously leaving behind its history in other disciplines of motorsport. The German manufacturer has pulled the plug on every single one of its racing programmes in order to redirect its focus on F1, even though its swathe of fans don’t associate the brand with single-seater or formula racing.

A picture showing Audi’s customer racing boss Chris Reinke handing over the delivery of the last-ever R8 LMS GT3 to Austrian businessman and amateur driver Michael Doppelmayr perfectly encapsulates Audi’s pedigree in motor racing. While the bare carbon fibre R8 LMS is proudly positioned in the centre, the photograph also shows a large number of Audi’s Le Mans Prototypes and Group B rally cars at Audi Tradition, the company’s mobile museum.

One would have to look very hard to spot a Silver Arrow with which the brand then known as Auto Union competed in grand prix racing in the 1930s. If there is any image that shows what Audi Sport stands for, it is this one.

It’s why the decision to gradually curtail the GT3 programme is particularly sad for both Audi and the wider motorsport world. The R8 is one of the most famous cars in the GT3 arena and easily one of the most successful, with victories in all major endurance events including Bathurst 12 Hour, Nurburgring 24 Hours and Spa 24 Hours. In all, Audi produced 310 examples of the car across multiple generations, winning 125 drivers’ titles and 197 other championships since 2009.

Audi has promised to provide technical support and spare parts for the R8 LMS GT3 until 2032, but it’s unlikely the car will be seen in action at the start of next decade. Audi no longer provides factory backing to its customer support teams, while its pool of factory drivers was also disbanded at the end of 2023. The four drivers that remained on its roster in 2024 are also set to leave as their contracts expire this year, meaning any team with an R8 would have to source drivers on their own and pay their salaries.

Then there is the small matter of the car becoming outdated in the face of newer models and Evo versions introduced by rivals. Slowly all existing outfits will be left with no option but to move to newer cars from other manufacturers. Even Abt Sportsline, a team whose relationship with Audi stretches back 25 years, has been forced to call it quits and switch to Lamborghini for its two-car DTM attack in 2025. The days of the R8 LMS GT3 on the track are numbered, at least in professional motorsport.

“It is the end of an era, but it was a personal privilege for me to be able to play a very prominent role in this for Audi,” Audi’s Reinke told Donaukurier. “I had this privilege once before as overall project manager in the LMP project, and when that ended, you also had a feeling of emptiness because you had identified very strongly with it.”

It is reported that a total of 101 people work at Audi’s customer racing division. It is unclear what will happen to them now that Audi has ceased production of the R8 LMS GT3, but Reinke hopes they will be able to continue working on motorsport-related projects away from competition.

It’s easy to see why Audi was lured by the pull of F1, which is now in a better shape than ever before. But it’s the high opportunity cost that makes people question whether it is worth the gamble.

Audi’s decision to put all its eggs in one basket would still have been understandable if its F1 project was running smoothly. But if the last six months are anything to go by, things have been anything but

In the last five years, Audi exited Class One-based DTM, pulled out of Formula E, put an end to a stillborn LMDh project, killed off a Dakar Rally team after just three years and ceased the production of its long-running GT3 car. Of course, some of these decisions were announced long before it laid out its ambition of entering F1, but it has still left far too many championships in such a span of time.

Customer racing - which also includes GT4 and TCR racing - was one area where Audi could have continued with limited investment, given the revenue it generates directly by selling cars and spare parts to independent teams. Of course, at some point Audi would have had to introduce a successor to the R8 LMS - and find a base model in its road car range for the same - but it’s a hurdle it could have overcome with relatively limited investment. After all, it didn’t need to necessarily build its next GT3 car around a thoroughbred racer like the R8 and could have opted for a sedan as a base model, similar to rival manufacturer BMW’s M4 GT3.

Audi’s decision to put all its eggs in one basket would still have been understandable if its F1 project was running on track. However, if the last six months are anything to go by, things have been anything but smooth.

Audi went from wanting to own no more than 75% of Sauber to taking over the entire ownership of the company, only to then sell a ‘significant minority’ stake to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. One should laud Audi for turning up the wick, after realising that progress on the chassis side of the operation was slower than it had expected. But it’s equally a worrying sign that it needed to raise fresh investment from an external source with just over a year left before its new car/engine hits the track for the first time.

Perhaps of more concern is the management upheaval at Audi. Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann were axed in the summer in favour of former Ferrari F1 team principal Mattia Binotto and current Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. The two have a big job in their hands to steady the ship and make sure Audi is in the best possible shape for 2026.

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But it certainly won’t be an easy task and the team’s inability to attract a star driver - with Carlos Sainz choosing Williams over partnering Nico Hulkenberg - shows the grid doesn’t believe it will be able to hit the ground running when the new regulations kick in in a little over 12 months.

Audi could probably take encouragement from the way it turned around its Dakar programme to win the prestigious rally raid on its third attempt in 2024. The Ingolstadt-based marque made a respectable debut in 2022 with the RS Q e-tron but went backwards in its second year of service, as reliability niggles left it without a shot against the mighty Toyota Hiliux. That prompted its rally arm to go back to the drawing board and fix the car's inherent weaknesses, those efforts allowing it to finally win the big prize in January this year with Carlos Sainz Sr.

However, while Audi’s hybrid Dakar challenger was nothing short of a technological marvel, its powertrain was derived from the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine it pioneered in the DTM and paired with the electric motor it developed in Formula E. While the knowledge it gained in the DTM, Formula E and Dakar will be immensely valuable, it has to build an F1 power unit from a clean sheet of paper, which would be the biggest challenge in its sporting history. Even the diesel-powered R18 wouldn’t match the complexity of the hybrid engine that will power its first-ever F1 car.

Until a month ago, Audi was set to be the only new manufacturer team to enter F1 in 2026, and hence was set to be a focal point. But with Cadillac’s entry now being accepted, it means the eyeballs will be split between the two giants of the automotive world, slashing its return on investment.

One can hope that Audi, with all its might, would eventually be able to become a proven force in F1. However, it would be foolish to assume that it would hit the ground running straight away. Even if Binotto and Wheatley are given the freedom to run Audi’s grand prix operation as a sleek F1 team, without excessive control from the board, it would take several years before it will be able to regularly challenge for victories and championships.

Having an existing racing programme, like in GT3s, would have helped Audi shift the focus away while it cut its teeth in F1. Unfortunately, having decided to scrap its involvement elsewhere, Audi would have nowhere to hide when it steps up to the big game in 2026.

In this article
Rachit Thukral
Formula 1
GT
Audi Sport
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