How Audi's 2026 season has played out so far
Audi’s debut Formula 1 season as a works team has seen mixed fortunes, with points in the opener but a six-race drought before recent upgrades yielded top-10 finishes. Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto have split points, while reliability issues and unusual incidents have disrupted progress.
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Audi entered the 2026 Formula 1 season as a full manufacturer team for the first time, taking over the former Sauber squad with drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. The season began with points in Australia, but a six-race streak without scoring followed, compounded by the departure of Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley. Upgrades introduced before the summer break produced top-10 finishes in Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, and Hungary, lifting Audi to eighth in the Constructors' Championship with 12 points.
Gabriel Bortoleto has contributed 10 of Audi’s 12 points, scoring in the season opener and finishing eighth in both Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. His eighth-place grid in Belgium marked four years since Audi first announced its F1 intentions, while his performance in front of 500 Audi employees underscored the team’s progress. Hulkenberg, despite a stronger 2025 record, leads the qualifying battle narrowly but has faced reliability setbacks, including three retirements and a DNS in Australia, alongside an unusual incident in Barcelona where gravel triggered the car’s kill switch.
The inter-team battle has seen Bortoleto finish ahead of Hulkenberg in seven of 11 races, though Hulkenberg’s recent ninth-place finish in Hungary narrowed the gap. Audi’s points drought ended with a haul of 10 points across the last three races, signaling a potential upward trend. Hulkenberg acknowledged the frustration of missed opportunities but emphasized the team’s resilience, while Allan McNish, Audi Racing Director, attributed the Barcelona incident to an automatic safety function triggered by gravel striking the kill switch.
Audi views 2026 and 2027 as foundational years amid major regulation changes, with Mattia Binotto, Head of Audi’s F1 project, framing them as construction phases toward a future championship goal by 2030. The team’s momentum heading into the summer break reflects steady progress, with both drivers contributing points and the partnership between veteran Hulkenberg and rookie Bortoleto proving effective. McNish expressed optimism about the second half of the season, citing valuable lessons learned and a focus on continued development.