The telemetry suggests Audi has made a fascinating discovery: hiring people who actually understand what happens at the pointy end of a racing car might be beneficial for their F1 project. Revolutionary stuff, really.
Allan McNish, the 54-year-old Scot who managed to win actual races during his career—including three Le Mans victories and 43 F1 starts between 1990 and 2002—has been appointed as Audi’s racing director. This represents what industry insiders are calling “a bold strategy of employing competence.”
The former Ferrari and Toyota F1 driver brings decades of motorsport experience to a team that’s currently demonstrating the aerodynamic properties of a house brick. With Hulkenberg and Bortoleto collecting points at roughly the same rate as a broken DRS system collects praise, McNish’s appointment suggests someone in Ingolstadt finally realized that building fast cars requires understanding how they work.
'Maybe now we can actually race instead of just existing'
— Hulkenberg, probably thinking out loud
Captured between the formation lap and someone unplugging the mic.
McNish’s CV makes for interesting reading compared to Audi’s current performance metrics. Three-time Le Mans winner, former Audi Sport driver, someone who’s actually seen the chequered flag from the correct side—qualities that one might assume would be prerequisites for running a racing operation, but apparently represent cutting-edge thinking in Hinwil.
The appointment comes during F1’s five-week break, giving McNish ample time to survey the wreckage and possibly question his life choices. His first task will likely involve explaining to the engineering team that the objective is to make the cars go faster than the opposition, not merely achieve mobile chicane status.
Audi’s current championship position—a comfortable last place with zero points from three races—suggests there’s considerable room for improvement. Both Hulkenberg and Bortoleto have been performing admirably given their machinery, which is rather like complimenting someone’s swimming technique while they’re attached to an anchor.
'Allan knows what winning looks like, which puts him ahead of most people here'
— Unnamed Audi engineer, off the record
This quote has been neither confirmed nor denied. Classic F1.
McNish’s experience with Audi Sport—where winning was occasionally expected rather than treated as a pleasant surprise—should prove valuable. His understanding of both driver psychology and race strategy represents a refreshing change from the current approach, which appears to involve hoping the other ten teams suffer simultaneous mechanical failures.
The timing is particularly astute, with Miami looming in early May. McNish will have exactly one week to implement his “radical” concept of making the cars competitive before Hulkenberg and Bortoleto resume their tour of F1’s scenic backmarkers positions.
Still, credit where it’s due—hiring someone who’s actually won races to run your racing operation shows genuine innovation. Next thing you know, they might even start designing cars that go around corners quickly. One can dream.
