Exclusive: Audi share five-word summary of first F1 season at halfway stage

Mattia Binotto has delivered a simple but revealing assessment of Audi's maiden F1 campaign, insisting the team is building a solid foundation despite an inconsistent opening half of the campaign.

Audi arrived on the grid this season carrying enormous expectation. After years of preparation and significant investment, the German marque's works operation entered F1 with serious ambition.

Binotto — who is now team principal, as well as CEO, of the fledgling operation after Jonathan Wheatley's unexpected departure earlier this year — has previously stated the target is to be winning races by 2030, with a view to being in championship contention from that point.

Podiums and victories were never viewed as realistic targets in year one; establishing solid technical foundations and proving the project was moving in the right direction were always considered the primary objectives.

And Audi's R26 chassis has generally earned praise for being a well-balanced and fundamentally strong package, even if an underpowered and at times unreliable power unit has prevented the team from consistently translating that promise into results.

The Hinwil-based outfit announced its arrival by scoring points on its grand prix debut in Australia, courtesy of Gabriel Bortoleto. But Nico Hulkenberg did not even make the start in the second car.

Since then, further reliability failures and operational mistakes have punctuated what has otherwise been a campaign of gradual progress.

Recent races, however, have offered greater encouragement, with Audi reducing the frequency of its issues whilst extracting more consistent performances from its package.

So much so, the team closed the first half of the year on a run of three consecutive points finishes, its first since Melbourne.

With Formula 1 now in its summer shutdown, RacingNews365 asked Binotto to summarise Audi's first season so far. His answer came in five words.

"A summary of the season so far is: satisfied, but not happy yet," he said during an exclusive interview.

A 'healthy' car without 'fundamental' issues

For Binotto, the team has avoided the nightmare scenario of discovering fundamental weaknesses in its first F1 car, leaving development focused on performance gains rather than correcting major design flaws, which he is quick to point out as a success.

"I think satisfied is because the car overall is a good car with no fundamental problem, and that's the best we can have in terms of foundations for our future developments, so it's a healthy car, as I said, with no big problems," he added.

"As Audi, in our very first year, that's what you would hope for the most, no? Because we know that from now onwards it's about building; it's not about addressing problems or recovering, it's about building.

"So very positive for the start. Very positive to know that the car is healthy."

Highs and lows

Binotto's appraisal is in step with his long-standing thinking. Rather than placing pressure on immediate headline results, the former Ferrari team principal has consistently stressed the importance of building sustainable competitiveness over several seasons.

Audi has never hidden its ambition of eventually challenging at the front of Formula 1, but equally acknowledged that transforming a midfield operation into a championship contender would require patience.

Whilst the chassis has demonstrated encouraging characteristics across a variety of circuits, the power unit has regularly limited the package's potential.

Combined with operational inconsistencies that are perhaps inevitable for a brand-new works team, opportunities to score have often slipped away.

Even so, there is a growing sense within the paddock that Audi possesses stronger foundations than its fluctuating fortunes this season might otherwise suggest.

Binotto alluded to frustrations, particularly after the encouraging debut at Albert Park, but believes the overall trajectory remains positive.

"And if I look in terms of overall results on track, points scored... We've had ups and downs," he said.

"We scored in Australia, our very first race, but since then, a lot of reliability issues, a lot of operational issues, which are expected, but we are in a very competitive environment, as well, in F1, and we know that the others are not waiting for us."

Heading in the right direction

That reality has been evident, even at the very start of F1's new regulations era, with a whole new generation of chassis and power units.

The established midfield has left little margin for error, meaning those reliability concerns or operational mistakes have carried an immediate cost in the fight for points.

Yet despite those setbacks, Audi's recent performances have hinted at increasing stability, offering encouragement that lessons learned during the opening months are beginning to translate into stronger race weekends.

Binotto believes that trend reflects the work taking place behind the scenes, and so he concluded: "So it is important to progress, keep pushing. I think the team is working very well; focused, committed.

"And the result of the last few races is showing that we are going in the right direction. So, as I said, not yet happy, but certainly satisfied."