Audi receives cost limit increase for entry into F1 in 2026

The faltering Audi Formula 1 project will receive an extra salary-based cost-cap spending allocation upon its entry in 2026, according to a report.

Audi is set to complete its 100% acquisition of Hinwil-based Sauber in 2026, with the German brand making its first foray into the world of F1.

However, with salaries in Switzerland reportedly 35-45% higher than in the UK or Italy, Audi is at a significant disadvantage to rival teams who can save a lot of money in the personnel department.

To help level the playing field, BBC Sport learned that the 2026 cost cap will allow adjustments to offset costs for teams operating in higher wage countries.

This will be a huge boost for Audi, which is expected to take over the team’s bottom spot in the 2024 Constructors’ standings.

Sauber have no points so far in the 2024 F1 season, but their average salary of £125,000 beats the sport’s top three teams by a reported £35,000.

Furthermore, 35-40% of Sauber’s budget goes towards employee salaries, leaving less room for vital sporting costs such as car development.

Mattia Binotto, operational and technical director of the Sauber/Audi F1 project, revealed to BBC Sport that the team simply would not have a chance of being competitive without this change in the cost cap.

Additionally, Binotto theorized that the team would be at a $20 million disadvantage.

Another change to the cost cap that will occur in 2026 is the increase in the cap from $135 million to $215 million per year, which takes into account inflation and more items included in the cap.

Cost cap changes welcome news amid difficult Audi F1 development

These cost cap developments for Audi will be good news in a project that has been difficult at best.

Less than two years after its entry into F1, all of the key figures who pushed Audi into F1 have since departed, and Joe Saward reports that the German brand is getting cold feet.

But unfortunately, Audi has stacked its chips on the F1 table and backing out before it even starts would be a huge embarrassment for one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers.

Furthermore, the brand’s engine development program is not going according to plan and the team has not yet selected a driver to partner Nico Hulkenberg in 2025.

Still, CEO Gernot Dollner’s public position is that Audi is in the midst of “a long-term commitment to Formula 1.”

Good thing, with Binotto believing that it won’t be until 2030 that the German brand will be regularly fighting at the top of the grid.

READ MORE: Mattia Binotto reveals the timetable that Audi intends to achieve success in F1