AUDI has shown off its new Formula 1 race car 115 days before its first scheduled event in Australia.

The Audi R26 Concept provides a preview of the colour scheme and design of the brand's first Formula 1 race car, which will be unveiled in January.

The colour palette features titanium, carbon black and a newly introduced Audi red. As part of this identity, Audi will also sport red rings, used selectively to underscore its Formula 1 presence.

To enter Formula 1, Audi acquired the Sauber Group in Switzerland in its entirety at the beginning of 2025.

At the helm of the Audi F1 Project are two experienced Formula 1 managers, former Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley, formerly of Red Bull, who report directly to Audi CEO Gernot Dollner.

In terms of drivers, the company is relying on a combination of experience and youthful energy with seasoned racing driver Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.

Since spring 2022, Audi has been developing the power unit for Formula 1 in Neuburg an der Donau - the only operational location of an F1 team in Germany.

It consists of a V6 internal combustion engine with a displacement of 1.6 litres and turbocharging, an energy recovery system including energy storage and an electric motor generator unit as well as an electronic control unit.

The future Audi F1 team will make its full public debut at the official team launch in January 2026.

Shortly after, the first official test drives with the new-generation Formula 1 cars will take place at the end of January at Barcelona, Spain - still behind closed doors.

During further tests in Bahrain in February the Audi factory team will test in Formula 1 in front of the public for the first time, before the brand's debut in the first race which takes place in Melbourne from March 6 to 8.