Within two and a half years of its decision to form a team, Audi will be finally participating in Formula 1 in 2026; and with a drive unit developed by Szegletes Dávid. The preparation of this young development engineer and this not so ordinary task was in part supported through his studies at the Széchenyi István University’s vehicle engineering program and his active participation on the formula student competition teams.
Last year when Audi announced that it will participate in Formula-1 from 2026 when the racing and vehicle specification rules are planned to change. The V6 turbo powered engine stays, but the electronical side’s performance will provide half of the total unit power. The next important development step after 2026 for Formula-1 will be changing to sustainable fuels.
The German brand Audi, which has gained an incredible reputation over the last years, is preparing to introduce himself to the world in motorsport’s top series Formula-1.
Szegletes Dávid, as a member of Audi’s Neuburgian Formula-1 developer team, has completed his studies at the Széchenyi István University last year. He said that his dreams came true when he was retained by the company.
His success wasn’t only because of luck, but was an achievement of his hard work and clever leverage of the institute’s academic and professional development extracurricular opportunities, such as the Arrabona Racing Team.
It gives more motivation to Szegletes Dávid now that a show car has been placed in the Audi’s Neuburgian development center ready with a ”Audi Launch” polishing.
”I have arrived from Nagykanizsa to the Széchenyi University, which was my dream university from the early days of highschool. I looked for a university town that had a highly developed industrial and technical environment, but was also liveable, and not crowded like Budapest. The proximity of Audi Hungaria had also played a big part in my final decision on where to make my studies. I completed my vehicle engineer bachelor’s degree in Hungarian, but the master’s degree was in English.” – explained the young engineer, who also was a member of the institute’s world renowned formula student team.
”I joined the SZEngine Team in my second year, which is an engine development team in the Formula Student series. This is where I acquired my knowledge on the engine’s brake pad application, installment, and engine control programming. The years I had spent as a team member have added greatly to the knowledge obtained during my studies. I took part in all of the automotive development progress: designed components, determined the manufacturing process, and I also had to take care of and maintain all the finished components. All of this was a game of high stakes because the team’s goal was to achieve the best possible results. The experience of traveling to competitions, where I had to react fast and autonomously to the challenges at hand caused me to learn a lot and grow up fast professional. – he continued.
Szegletes Dávid is now working for the Audi Formula-1 team thanks to his focus, professional commitment, and time well spent at the Széchenyi István University.