Madring Circuit, Madrid, Spain – Audi Revolut F1 Team came away from the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid’s new Madring circuit with another championship point, as Nico Hülkenberg finished 10th and Gabriel Bortoleto 13th. With overtaking proving difficult over the 57-lap race, Audi relied on two different strategies and strong pit work to move Hülkenberg into the final points-paying position.
Starting 11th, Hülkenberg was on new soft tires while Bortoleto started 12th on new hards. Audi again lost ground at the start, continuing a weakness seen at Monza, but the early Virtual Safety Car provided an opportunity to bring Hülkenberg in on lap 14. A quick stop for new hard tires allowed him to emerge ahead of Esteban Ocon, gaining track position that proved important given the limited passing opportunities around Madring.
Hülkenberg remained on the hard compound for the rest of the race, managing the tires while working his way into 10th. He closed on Arvid Lindblad late but could not find a way past, taking the final point with a fastest lap of 1:38.114 on lap 50.
Audi took the opposite approach with Bortoleto. The Brazilian stayed out on his starting hard tires until lap 47, extending the first stint in the hope that a later Safety Car, Virtual Safety Car or red flag might provide a strategic opportunity. None arrived. Bortoleto eventually stopped for new softs and finished 13th, recording a 1:37.837 on lap 50 — slightly quicker than Hülkenberg’s best.
The result continues Audi’s recent run of points finishes, although Madrid again showed how closely packed the midfield remains. After narrowly missing Q3 with both cars on Saturday, Hülkenberg converted his 11th-place starting position into a point largely through strategy and pit execution rather than outright passing. Audi now has 17 constructors’ championship points, four behind Haas in seventh.
Madrid also marked the end of Freddie Slater’s rookie Formula 3 season. The Audi Driver Development Programme driver narrowly missed the championship after a season that included eight podium finishes across eight rounds.
Audi now moves on to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku, where the characteristics of the street circuit should provide a very different challenge from the difficult-to-pass Madring.
GRAND PRIX RESULTS
FULL RESULTS | WATCH BROADCAST
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME/GAP | LAPS | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:34:23.754 | 57 | 25 |
| 2 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +4.351 | 57 | 18 |
| 3 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +5.089 | 57 | 15 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +29.116 | 57 | 12 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | +29.829 | 57 | 10 |
| 6 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull | +86.746 | 57 | 8 |
| 7 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +94.281 | 57 | 6 |
| 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +95.839 | 57 | 4 |
| 9 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +1 Lap | 56 | 2 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +1 Lap | 56 | 1 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 13 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +1 Lap | 56 | 0 |
DRIVER STANDINGS (TOP 10)
| POS. | DRIVER | NATIONALITY | TEAM | PTS. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Anotonelli | 🇮🇹 ITA | Mercedes | 292 |
| 2 | George Russell | 🇬🇧 GBR | Mercedes | 211 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | 🇬🇧 GBR | Ferrari | 191 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | 🇬🇧 GBR | McLaren | 186 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | 🇲🇨 MON | Ferrari | 167 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | 🇳🇱 NED | Red Bull | 145 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | 🇦🇺 AUS | McLaren | 120 |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | 🇫🇷 FR | Red Bull | 71 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | 🇳🇿 NZL | Racing Bulls | 59 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | 🇫🇷 FR | Alpine | 41 |
| – | – | – | = | – |
| 14 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 🇧🇷 BRA | Audi | 10 |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | 🇩🇪 GER | Audi | 7 |
TEAM STANDINGS
| POS. | TEAM | PTS. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes | 503 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 358 |
| 3 | McLaren | 306 |
| 4 | Red Bull | 230 |
| 5 | Racing Bulls | 77 |
| 6 | Alpine | 68 |
| 7 | Haas | 21 |
| 8 | Audi | 17 |
| 9 | Williams | 11 |
| 10 | Aston Martin | 3 |
| 11 | Cadillac | 0 |
TEAM SUMMARY
On a track on which overtakes proved nigh-impossible, it was teamwork, strategy and superbly executed pit stops that helped Nico jump his rivals over the 57-lap race and claim the final points-paying position. On the other side of the garage, Gabriel Bortoleto ran a strong race, going long on his starting hard tyre in the hope of making strategic gains later: with no late Safety Cars or red flags, however, he could not materialise his gains and finished his race in 13th place.
The point gained brings the team’s total to 17 – only four shy of Haas in seventh place in the championship.
Earlier in the day, Audi Driver Development Programme’s Freddie Slater brought his Formula 3 season to a close: following a run of eight podiums in eight rounds, the Brit narrowly missed on an outstanding rookie season championship. Despite the disappointment, the racecraft, speed and maturity displayed in his maiden season placed him as one of the standout performers of the year across all junior formulas.
TEAM QUOTES
Allan McNish, Racing Director
“Overall, we’re happy to have gained a point. It was always going to be a difficult race from a strategy point of view, with overtaking being very difficult and it looking strongly like a one-stop race. We dropped positions again at the start, which is an area we know is one of our weaknesses, but from there I was very pleased with how we worked as a team.
“We played a real team game today. Nico switched from the soft onto the hard tyre, while we ran an alternative strategy with Gabi which covered pretty much every scenario. Gabi did a great job to run very long on the hard, with the hope that a Safety Car, Virtual Safety Car or red flag later in the race could give him a significant tyre advantage, or a free stop, and propel him back into the points. On the other side, Nico was very strong on both the soft and the hard and came very close to getting ahead of Lindblad at the end.
“Ultimately, I have to say the point today was delivered by the team in the pits. Nico came in behind Ocon and went out ahead of him after a fantastically quick stop, and the team repeated that performance when Gabi came in. It was a very good team effort, strategically, in the pits and from both drivers. It’s another point for us, and now we look forward to Baku.”
Nico Hulkenberg, Car #27
Race result: 10th
Fastest lap: 1:38.114 (Lap 50)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Soft) – Lap 14 (New Hard)
“We got the maximum out of what we had today. Starting on the soft tyre meant the early Virtual Safety Car was the right window for us to pit, and the pit crew did a fantastic job to get me ahead of Esteban [Ocon]. That was probably the key moment of our race because it gave us the track position we needed. From there, it was all about managing the tyres. Overtaking was very difficult with everyone running at a similar pace, so there wasn’t much room to make further progress. We’ve been towards the top of this midfield fight for a while now, hopefully we will soon make the extra step we need to keep moving forward.”
Gabriel Bortoleto, Car #5
Race result: 13th
Fastest lap: 1:37.837 (Lap 50)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Hard) – Lap 47 (New Soft)
“We got unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car today, which pretty much messed up with our plans, and after that nothing else happened until the end of the race – not much more we could have done from there, especially as chances to overtake were slim.
“Overall, it’s been a weekend of learnings. It wasn’t the best, but it was not all that bad either, and I have quite enjoyed racing around here. In qualifying, we were close to making it into Q3 again, and that was more or less where our pace has been all weekend. Now, a week to recharge and get back to work before we head to Baku in two weeks.”
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