2026 Japanese Grand Prix - Sunday

🇯🇵 Audi F1 R:3.2026 Japanese GP: Race Report (Sunday)

R:3🇯🇵 RACE INFORMATION

AUDI REVOLUT F1 | FORMULA 1 SERIES


2026 Japanese Grand Prix – Sunday

FULL RESULTS | WATCH FULL BROADCAST | WATCH RACE IN 30

POS.NO.DRIVERTEAMTIME/GAPLAPSPOINTS
112Kimi AntonelliMercedes1:28:03.4035325
281Oscar PiastriMcLaren+13.7225318
316Charles LeclercFerrari+15.2705315
463George RussellMercedes+15.7545312
51Lando NorrisMcLaren+23.4795310
644Lewis HamiltonFerrari+25.037538
710Pierre GaslyAlpine+32.340536
83Max VerstappenRed Bull+32.677534
930Liam LawsonRacing Bulls+50.180532
1031Esteban OconHaas+51.216531
1127Nico HulkenbergAudi+52.280530
135Gabriel BortoletoAudi+59.078530

2026 Japanese Grand Prix – Sunday

DRIVER STANDINGS (TOP 10)

POS.DRIVERNATIONALITYTEAMPTS.
1Kimi Antonelli🇮🇹 ITAMercedes72
2George Russell🇬🇧 GBRMercedes63
3Charles Leclerc🇲🇨 MONFerrari49
4Lewis Hamilton🇬🇧 GBRFerrari41
5Lando Norris🇬🇧 GBRMcLaren25
6Oscar Piastri🇦🇺 AUSMcLaren21
7Oliver Bearman🇬🇧 GBRHaas17
8Pierre Gasly🇫🇷 FRAlpine15
9Max Verstappen🇳🇱 NEDRed Bull12
10Liam Lawson🇳🇿 NZLRacing Bulls10
13Gabriel Bortoleto🇧🇷 BRAAudi2
17Nico Hulkenberg🇩🇪 GERAudi0

2026 Japanese Grand Prix – Sunday

TEAM STANDINGS

POS.TEAMPTS.
1Mercedes135
2Ferrari90
3McLaren46
4Haas18
5Alpine16
6Red Bull16
7Racing Bulls14
8Audi2
9Williams2
10Cadillac0
11Aston Martin0

2026 Japanese Grand Prix – Sunday

TEAM SUMMARY

Audi Revolut F1 Team finished just over one second away from a point as Nico Hulkenberg charged to P11 in a Japanese Grand Prix that delivered battles from lights to flag. The German recovered from 19th in the opening stages, and his fightback ended with him catching up the final point-scoring position, only for the laps to run out before an attack could be made. On the other side of the garage, Gabriel Bortoleto also had a busy afternoon, battling in the midfield but ultimately crossing the line in P13.

As Formula One goes on a hiatus until the Miami Grand Prix in May, the team will take the learnings of the opening three races of the season to continue working on its package. With a proven ability to fight around points-paying positions, the aim will be to return to action in Florida having made a further step forward.


TEAM QUOTES

2026 Japanese Grand Prix – Friday

Mattia Binotto, Head of Audi F1 Project
“The race leaves us with mixed feelings, with both positives and areas to improve. On the positive side, having both cars start the race and complete the full distance is an important step forward for the team. Reliability was strong throughout, and operationally the race was well executed, including consistent pit stops without issues.

“The pace of the car was also encouraging. We have shown that we can compete around the top ten, and Nico’s race in particular demonstrated that, fighting well through the field and making overtakes on some quick cars to finish just outside the points. It underlines the underlying potential of the package. Gabriel had a strong weekend, but today we didn’t put him in the conditions to express all his potential: he would have probably been up there on the cusp of the points with Nico, based on the good job he did yesterday and in practice.

“At the same time, there are clear areas where we need to improve. Our start performance is not yet where it needs to be, and we lost significant ground on the opening lap, which ultimately nullified the good work done yesterday and compromised the race for both drivers. More broadly, drivability and energy management remain key areas of focus. As a young package, which is what we are, we still have a lot to learn and refine.

“We now have some time ahead of us to analyse the data and continue developing the car. While we did not achieve the points we were targeting, there are solid foundations in place, and our focus is on coming back stronger in the next phase of the season.”

2026 Japanese Grand Prix – Sunday

Nico Hulkenberg, Car #27
Race result: 11th
Fastest lap: 1:33.732 (Lap 47)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium) – Lap 23 (New Hard)

“We had good pace and a realistic shot at scoring points, but our race was compromised by a poor start. Improving our race starts is something we need to focus on as a team over the upcoming weeks. I lost several positions on the opening lap, from P13 to P19, which made things difficult from there. Being stuck in traffic for most of the race limited our opportunities to make progress.

“These cars are still quite tricky to race with the current energy management and overtaking dynamics. Moves can be made, but you end up vulnerable immediately after, so it’s a bit of a trade-off at the moment.

“On the positive side, it was valuable to complete the race and gather a lot of data. There’s plenty for us to look at and improve, and with a month until Miami, we have time to analyse everything and come back stronger.”

2026 Japanese Grand Prix – Sunday

Gabriel Bortoleto, Car #5
Race result: 13th
Fastest lap: 1:34.164 (Lap 40)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium) – Lap 22 (New Hard)

“The race was quite okay overall: the Safety Car worked in our favour, as I had decided to stay out longer to avoid being stuck behind other cars on harder compounds; our pace wasn’t too bad, although I had some struggles on the straights. What mainly affected us today, unfortunately, was the start: we’ve been knowing since the first race of the season it’s something we need to work on, to try and put things back in place and not compromise the job we do on Saturday. 

“Now, with almost five weeks away from racing, we’ll keep our head down and make the most out of this time to work together across our bases and improve our car in order to come back in Miami in May in a better place.”


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