After a tricky Barcelona shakedown, Audi have enjoyed a relatively smooth winter pre-season in Bahrain, with drivers Bortoleto and Hulkenberg's quickest lap times across the final three days of testing putting them P10 and P12, respectively.

Audi's overall lap count in Bahrain (357) was enough to place them seventh in terms of mileage, an impressive feat given their troubles in Barcelona, where they caused two red flags in three days with technical issues.

On Day 1 of Bahrain Test 1, Hulkenberg did bring out the red flag, but was back on track within 15 minutes, and Audi did not seem to run into any other major issues for the remainder of pre-season.

Speaking to media, including GPblog, on Audi's place in the pecking order, Hulkenberg said: "It's just speculation right now still.

"I think we really don't know until Melbourne and even a few races in because I feel at the moment it also can be quite track dependent, you know, how your package feels on different circuits. So we'll have to wait and see until everybody really pulls their pants down in qualy and, you know, we'll find out."

Taking over from Sauber, Audi enter F1 as a new outfit with a brand new power unit, aiming to compete for world championships by 2030. For Hulkenberg in 2026, however, the goal is to compete in the midfield.

He added: "The team's been working hard over the winter, obviously pushing all the areas, you know, being new into the power unit side, you know, doing that for the first time.

Another team with a new power unit is Aston Martin, who have suffered a disastrous winter pre-season in Bahrain, with Honda's Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer, Shintaro Orihara, admitting the engine supplier is "not happy" with Aston's current situation.