Audi become first team to run 2026 F1 car as new team hold filming day in Barcelona ahead of testing | F1 News

Audi became the first team to run a 2026 Formula 1 car as they held a filming day in Barcelona on Friday.

Audi have taken over what was previously the Sauber team, but have become a works outfit and are producing their own engine under the sport’s new technical regulations for this season.

Given the new regulations feature major changes to both chassis and engine, three pre-season testing events have been arranged, with the first taking place at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from January 26-30.

Several teams will likely use one of their two permitted filming days for the season to shakedown their cars before the first test, and Audi became the first squad to do this on Friday with their new R26.

In a post on Instagram, the team published a selection of images taken from the pit lane and garage during the day – although the three featuring the car itself unsurprisingly gave little away about the design at this early stage of the year featuring such radical new technical rules.

One was shot from a distance as the car came down the pit lane, another was taken from behind when in its pit box while a third just featured just the right-hand side of its rear wing.

Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto both drove the car, while team principal Jonathan Wheatley and Audi F1 head Mattia Binotto were also present.

The team said in their Instagram post: “We’re officially rolling.

“A milestone moment in Barcelona as the R26 hit a racetrack for the very first time. First day. First laps. First chance for our drivers to experience the car.

“The road ahead starts right here.”

Audi will officially launch their new-look team and first car livery at an event in Berlin on January 20, five days before the R26 is back on track in Barcelona for the behind-closed-doors first test of pre-season.

All 11 F1 teams on the 2026 grid have now confirmed their plans for ‘launch season’, with the two Red Bull teams kicking things off with livery launches at new partner Ford’s headquarters in Detroit on January 15.

Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime