There is no place to conceal shortcomings in Formula One, a championship that exposes any weakness week after week. It is a setting where triumph demands relentless effort, yet former driver and multiple Le Mans winner Allan McNish thrives in this atmosphere and believes he and Audi can succeed where many have stumbled.

McNish remains outgoing and approachable even amid the heavy demands of his role as racing director for the squad that entered the grid this season. He stands among the few senior figures in the sport who have raced at the highest level and achieved major victories.

Despite recognising the size of the challenge for the newcomers, he smiles broadly inside the Audi hospitality area in Hungary. He embraces the assignment wholeheartedly because he still thinks like a racer at heart.

It is great fun because I am a racing person and we are racing, that is the core of it, he explains. I view matters largely through a drivers perspective and focus on what the drivers require. In many ways I share every lap and every corner with both Nico Hulkenberg and Gabi Bortoleto, and I doubt I will ever lose that outlook. I am also unsure I wish to lose it, since I rely on my own experiences when making decisions.

McNish gains comparable fulfilment from his current position as he once did from competing.

The drive a racer feels, the concentration required and the awareness of operating at the forefront to produce a result led him to discover that the next role offering the same intensity was that of team principal, where control over direction allows direct influence on outcomes just as a driver experiences.

The 56-year-old from Dumfries may not be instantly recognised by every fan, yet he commands deep respect across motor sport and the paddock.

He started in karting in 1981, served as a test driver for McLaren and Benetton, and raced a full Formula One season with Toyota in 2002, but sports car events became his true domain.

His first Le Mans victory came with Porsche in 1998, after which he began a long association with Audi in 2000. He claimed the 24-hour race twice more in 2008 and 2013, and in his final season also secured the world endurance title. Across 14 starts at Le Mans he added six further podium finishes.

His Audi record also features repeated successes at major endurance events, including four wins at the Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans, plus three second places at the Daytona 24 Hours. He captured the American Le Mans Series championship on three occasions in 2000, 2006 and 2007.

Over 13 years with Audi he entered 89 races, achieved 66 podiums and 29 victories, and has stayed with the company ever since. In 2017 he became team principal of Audis Formula E programme and delivered the constructors crown in its first year.

That accomplished driving background supplies extensive knowledge for his current task, a significant leap for the German manufacturer. Audi has excelled in rallying and sports cars yet this marks its debut in Formula One. The team acquired Sauber and is developing its own power unit, so the undertaking is substantial. Even with manufacturer backing, success is never assured, as Aston Martin has discovered this season.

Just as Audi methodically rose to dominance in sports cars, the Formula One effort shows quiet resolve. The team sits ninth of 11 in the championship and its engine lacks power, yet the chassis performs strongly in corners, a trait likely to appear at the Hungaroring. Team principal Mattia Binotto, previously at Ferrari, has named 2030 as the goal for title contention.

This opening season serves as a learning phase, pairing youthful energy from Bortoleto with Hulkenbergs experience, a useful mix while the squad gains pace. Still, the five-year timeline echoes earlier pledges from Aston Martin and Alpine that remain unfulfilled.

Why does McNish think his group can succeed where others have not?

Major races and programmes are familiar territory from his earlier time with Audi, he notes. The approach involves setting clear aims, supplying the necessary resources and maintaining the commitment required for long-term success in Formula One.

Audis arrival has been measured. The team has avoided bold forecasts and kept targets realistic, following a pattern McNish knows well from sports car days.

We celebrate the wins but often overlook the hard periods that came first, he observes. The key lesson is that lasting success rarely appears overnight. It must be earned.

Audi still has distance to cover before becoming genuine frontrunners, yet the presence of the affable Scot guiding the effort offers clear benefit.

Some individuals belong at the track, and that is certainly true for me, he concludes.