Mattia Binotto believes Audi’s Formula 1 operation bears a striking resemblance to the Ferrari team he encountered in 1995, with the former Scuderia boss pointing to a small workforce, ageing facilities and limited processes as similarities between the two projects. Despite the scale of the task ahead, the Audi team principal remains convinced that fighting for the F1 world championship by 2030 is a realistic objective.
Audi has made a promising start to its first official Formula 1 season, but Mattia Binotto is under no illusion about the structural gap that still separates the project from established front-running organisations such as Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren. The Italian engineer believes further investment in personnel and production capacity will be essential if the German manufacturer is to build the foundations required for sustained success.
Mattia Binotto says Audi still has a major gap to close
Speaking to RacingNews365, Mattia Binotto acknowledged that anyone visiting the facilities of Mercedes, Ferrari or McLaren before seeing Audi’s operation would immediately recognise the difference in scale. He explained that the team needs to become larger, both by increasing its workforce and by creating additional production space.
According to the Audi team principal, expansion projects are already being explored because increased capacity will be vital to the organisation’s future. He also stressed that such growth cannot happen immediately, with the team carefully evaluating its options before making decisions and communicating its plans.
The comments reinforce the long-term nature of Audi’s Formula 1 project. Mattia Binotto has previously outlined an ambitious development path towards the end of the decade, including Audi’s objective of becoming a championship contender by 2030.
Why Audi reminds Mattia Binotto of Ferrari in 1995
The scale of the rebuilding process has prompted Mattia Binotto to look back more than three decades to his early period at Ferrari. He compared the current Audi project directly with the Scuderia of 1995, when Ferrari was operating with considerably fewer people, more limited processes and facilities far removed from the scale of the modern Maranello organisation.
For Mattia Binotto, the resemblance was clear when he first arrived at Audi. He recalled Ferrari at that time as having a small and old factory, relatively few employees and limited organisational processes. In his assessment, the current Audi operation therefore has far more in common with the Ferrari of 1995 than with the vastly expanded Scuderia that competes today.
The comparison carries particular weight because Mattia Binotto experienced Ferrari’s evolution from inside the organisation. His history with Maranello has repeatedly shaped the way he discusses Audi’s long-term challenge, although he has also highlighted how Ferrari retains an advantage that Audi cannot simply reproduce as a new Formula 1 constructor.
The 1995 Ferrari season featured Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger and proved difficult for the Italian team, but the comparison being made by Mattia Binotto centres primarily on the organisation behind the cars. The message is that Audi still has considerable structural development ahead before it can operate on the same scale as Formula 1’s biggest teams.
Audi expansion seen as crucial to its 2030 F1 title ambition
That is why much of the work at Audi is currently taking place away from the immediate race-weekend spotlight. Mattia Binotto emphasised that the team is building solid foundations, with greater staffing levels, additional production capacity and stronger internal processes all forming part of the wider project.
The former Ferrari team principal nevertheless sees no contradiction between acknowledging Audi’s current limitations and setting an ambitious championship target. He confirmed that challenging for the world title by 2030 remains, in his view, both realistic and achievable if the organisation develops as planned.
Audi’s growth has already involved recruiting personnel with experience elsewhere in Formula 1. The project previously added another connection with Maranello when Mattia Binotto recruited an engineer from Ferrari for Audi, reflecting the broader process of strengthening the operation ahead of its long-term competitive push.
Mattia Binotto draws on Ferrari experience without copying Maranello
The Ferrari comparison does not mean Mattia Binotto intends simply to recreate the organisation he previously knew at Maranello. His more recent comments about the two teams have also highlighted differences in working culture and methods as Audi attempts to establish its own identity rather than duplicate Ferrari’s structure.
Indeed, the former Scuderia boss has previously questioned the idea that Audi should simply model itself on modern Ferrari, making clear that the objective is ultimately to build an organisation capable of winning in its own right. His assessment of the differences between Audi and Ferrari has underlined how strongly he views the German manufacturer as a separate long-term project.
What the 1995 comparison does provide is a reference point for the scale of the transformation ahead. Mattia Binotto has seen first-hand how a comparatively small Formula 1 operation can grow dramatically over time, and he now believes Audi is at an early stage of a similarly extensive process.
The immediate task is therefore not simply to chase short-term results, but to increase the size and capabilities of the organisation behind them. Audi’s opening season may have provided an encouraging start, yet its team principal sees considerably more work ahead before the infrastructure matches the championship ambitions already established for 2030.
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