F1 chief has already confirmed his team’s 2026 power unit won’t be ‘the best’ on the grid next year

With every Formula 1 race weekend that passes in 2025, each team in the paddock continues to slowly shift their focus towards next season.

That’s not an unusual practice but the 2026 F1 season will see the introduction of some of the most drastic rule changes in the sport’s history.

F1’s newest regulation set is arriving on the horizon with plenty of controversy surrounding it.

One of the biggest talking points is the new power units that every team is developing behind the scenes.

Each driver will be relying far more heavily on battery power, with cars set to be lighter and very slightly narrower, which might make overtaking at the Monaco Grand Prix even more difficult.

Red Bull and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem want to change next year’s power unit rules with concerns from some engineers that they won’t work properly at some of the highest speed circuits on the calendar.

Ferrari have already shifted some of their staff onto next year’s car to try and make sure they’re competitive.

Newcomers Audi are fully focused on 2026, but team chief Mattia Binotto isn’t confident that they’ll be immediately competitive.

READ MORE: Who is Sauber and Audi F1 chief Mattia Binotto? Everything to know

Mattia Binotto says Audi’s 2026 F1 car ‘won’t have the best’ power unit on the grid

Binotto was taking part in an interview with Motorsport and it was put to him that whispers in the paddock suggest that Mercedes will have the best engine next year.

He replied: “Yes, that’s a rumour I hear too. As far as we’re concerned, we’re focused on ourselves: we know that 2026 won’t be the year in which we’ll still be at the top.

“We won’t have the best power unit, but the path that has been taken is the right one, I’m confident.”

Asked if the engine is too complicated to be perfected when the team launches next year, he continued: “Making a power unit, I know this well because I was an engine engineer, is much more complex and complicated than one might imagine watching races as a spectator.

“There are very complex technologies, but the human factor also counts a lot. There are mechanics who can make the difference because they know every detail of the engine: they know how to assemble it, how to open it and how to save a piece.

“This experience in the processes, in the basic knowledge, in the set-up, I discovered in my past: how many mistakes made can only be corrected with lived experience! So we are talking about a culture in continuous evolution.”

“Now, instead, we are entering something extremely advanced that has never been done; therefore, we will find a higher level of difficulty, even though the starting point is always an engine.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Sauber from team principal to 2026 Audi future

How Audi’s first driver line-up in Formula 1 is set to look after Sauber takeover

Sauber currently sit bottom of the constructors’ championship having only scored six points this season.

Their points tally comes courtesy of Nico Hulkenberg’s seventh-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix, although this proved to be a false dawn.

Fans couldn’t believe Hulkenberg’s onboard camera at the following race in China when he and Gabriel Bortoleto both slipped off the road on the opening lap.

F1 Oversteer understands Sauber have been impressed with Bortoleto and any plans to replace him with a more experienced driver next year have been put on hold.

Likewise, Hulkenberg is expected to lead Audi into their maiden F1 campaign, although he and Bortoleto won’t be happy to hear that the team still don’t expect to be very competitive next season.