Austin, Texas – Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber’s weekend at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) marked a turning point in its final season before becoming Audi’s full works entry in 2026. In the shadow of COTA’s unmistakable observation tower, the team showcased the kind of grit, execution, and pace that signal what’s to come from Ingolstadt’s future Formula 1 efforts..
Friday set the tone when Nico Hülkenberg delivered a sensational Sprint Qualifying performance—posting the fourth-fastest time and earning the team’s best grid position in over a decade. The result even mirrored his own 2013 start for Sauber in Austin. Across the garage, Gabriel Bortoleto endured a tougher session, losing a lap to track limits and falling short of SQ2 despite strong pace in practice.
Saturday brought contrasting fortunes. Hülkenberg’s Sprint Race ended in disappointment after a first-corner collision dropped him to the back, forcing an early pit stop. The German recovered to P13, just behind team-mate Bortoleto, who impressed with a nine-place climb to P11. In qualifying for Sunday’s main event, Bortoleto narrowly missed Q2 in 16th, while Hülkenberg’s 17th-place grid spot left him poised for another climb through the field.
On Sunday, the team’s persistence finally paid off. Starting P11, Hülkenberg kept his race clean and methodical, rising to finish eighth—his drive earning four hard-fought points and extending the team’s total to 59, surpassing its 2022 benchmark of 57. It was a reward for a weekend of consistency and composure that reflected a maturing team on the rise.
Bortoleto, running an alternate strategy from P16, made solid early gains but was hampered by a slow first pit stop and a misjudged Virtual Safety Car window, ultimately finishing P18. Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley summed up the mixed emotions: “An outstanding performance by Nico all weekend. It makes you wonder what might have been if turn one in the Sprint had gone smoothly too. He was composed, fast, and faultless. On the other side, it was frustrating for Gabi—we missed an opportunity under the VSC and had an equipment issue that set us back. But that’s racing. We move forward to Mexico with plenty of encouragement.”
With Austin complete, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber leaves Texas not only with points but also with momentum—a valuable signal for fans counting down to the moment the cars bear the Audi name in 2026.
In other news, Formula 1 has confirmed that the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas will remain on the calendar through 2034, securing a long-term home for the sport in Texas. Since joining the F1 calendar in 2012, COTA has become one of the championship’s marquee events, attracting more than 430,000 fans in recent years and blending world-class racing with major entertainment. This year introduced the inaugural “F1 Grid Gigs,” featuring Texas-born country artist Drake Milligan performing live on the starting grid before lights out—a sign of F1’s growing fusion of sport and spectacle.
In other news from the weekend, Max Verstappen continued his dominant form with victory in Saturday’s Sprint race, followed by George Russell and Carlos Sainz. The result further tightened the fight at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, setting the stage for an intense late-season battle. With a rapidly expanding U.S. fanbase—now exceeding 52 million and growing fastest among fans aged 18 to 24—Formula 1’s future in America looks stronger than ever, both on and off the track.
TEAM QUOTES
Jonathan Wheatley
Team Principal:
“An outstanding performance by Nico all weekend. It makes you wonder what the story might have been if turn one in the Sprint had gone smoothly too. He was a class act – composed, fast, and faultless in very tough conditions. On the other side of the garage, it was a frustrating afternoon for Gabi. We missed an opportunity under the Virtual Safety Car and with an equipment issue causing a slow first stop that set us back. We tried an aggressive strategy late on, but it didn’t quite pay off. Two very different stories this weekend: one to celebrate and one to learn from. But that’s racing, and we move forward to Mexico with plenty of encouragement for everyone involved”
Nico Hulkenberg, Car #27
Race result: gth
Fastest lap: 1:38.372 (Lap 54)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium) – Lap 33 (New Soft)
“I’m really happy to finish the race with points. We’ve shown great pace all weekend, right from FP1. With the incident in the sprint yesterday, we didn’t get the chance to show what we could do, so it felt great to have another shot today. The race was clean, well-executed on multiple fronts, and we were determined to make the most of it. The whole team deserves this result for the work they’ve put in. Now onto Mexico!”
Gabriel Bortoleto, Car #5
Race result: 18th
Fastest lap: 1:38.275 (Lap 39)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Soft) – Lap 14 (New Medium) – Lap 36 (New Soft)
“It’s been a rather uneventful race for me. We possibly could have done something different under the Virtual Safety Car, but starting from the back always makes things tough, especially if you do not have a big advantage on those in fronts of you, which was the case today. Overall, it’s been a challenging weekend. Still, I want to thank the team for the work done throughout the sessions, listening to my feedback and trying to get me in the best possible position to perform. We’ll take the learnings from this weekend, understand what we could have done better, keep our head up and move onto the next one.”
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