Audi Revolut F1 Team came agonizingly close to Q3 in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with Gabriel Bortoleto missing the cut by just 0.001 seconds. The Brazilian finished Q2 in 11th with a 1:22.517, while teammate Nico Hülkenberg qualified 13th with a 1:22.779. Earlier Saturday, Hülkenberg had placed 11th in FP3 with a 1:23.126, while Bortoleto was 13th on a 1:23.298, suggesting Audi remained firmly in the midfield fight despite coming into Monza expecting the high-speed circuit to be a more difficult match for the R26.
Both Audi drivers progressed through Q1, but the margins became exceptionally tight in Q2. Bortoleto delivered a strong final lap but a small rear-end moment at Turn 8 cost time, leaving him one thousandth behind Lewis Hamilton for the final Q3 position. Hülkenberg, meanwhile, struggled to find the right combination of track position and slipstream in Q1 before improving as qualifying progressed. Racing Director Allan McNish felt Audi had ultimately extracted the maximum available from the car, even if coming so close to Q3 made the result particularly frustrating.
The bigger concern for Audi came from one of its direct midfield rivals. Alpine enjoyed a remarkable qualifying session, with Pierre Gasly taking his first Formula 1 pole position on a 1:21.786, ahead of George Russell and Oscar Piastri. Franco Colapinto compounded Alpine’s strong showing by putting the second car eighth, giving the team two cars in Q3 on a weekend when Audi could advance neither. Gasly had shown speed throughout qualifying, topping Q1 before eventually producing the surprise pole lap on his final Q3 run.
That performance raises the stakes for Audi on Sunday as it looks to continue a recent run of four consecutive points-scoring Grands Prix. Grid penalties for several cars ahead should improve the starting positions of Bortoleto and Hülkenberg, while both drivers believe the R26 has shown enough race pace in recent weekends to fight forward. The immediate objective will be getting at least one Audi into the points, but with Alpine starting from pole and with both cars well up the order, minimizing any potential championship gain by its midfield rival could prove equally important.
R:13 SCHEDULE
| DAY/DATE | ACTIVITY | TRACK TIME | CET | EST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 04 Sep | Practice 1 | 12:30-13:30 | 12:30-13:30 | 6:30 AM – 7:30 AM |
| Fri 04 Sep | Practice 2 | 16:00-17:00 | 16:00-17:00 | 10:00 AM -11:00 AM |
| Sat 05 Sep | Practice 3 | 12:30-13:30 | 12:30-13:30 | 6:30 AM – 7:30 AM |
| Sat 22 Aug | Qualifying | 16:00-17:00 | 16:00-17:00 | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM |
| Sun 23 Aug | Grand Prix | 15:00 | 15:00 | 9:00 AM |
R:12 RACE INFORMATION
AUDI REVOLUT F1 | FORMULA 1 SERIES | OFFICIAL ITALIAN GP MONZA WEBSITE
FREE PRACTICE #3 RESULTS
FULL RESULTS | WATCH BROADCAST
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME/GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:22.219 | 13 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.226 | 21 |
| 3 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.350 | 24 |
| 4 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.361 | 18 |
| 5 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.406 | 18 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.489 | 21 |
| 7 | 31 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +0.505 | 21 |
| 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.554 | 21 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.679 | 24 |
| 10 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +0.882 | 23 |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +0.907 | 22 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 13 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +1.079 | 21 |
QUALIFYING RESULTS
FULL RESULTS | WATCH BROADCAST
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | 1 | Q2 | Q3 | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:22.612 | 1:22.077 | 1:21.786 | 18 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:22.779 | 1:22.161 | 1:21.846 | 17 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:22.924 | 1:22.017 | 1:21.966 | 18 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:22.902 | 1:22.509 | 1:22.004 | 18 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:22.847 | 1:22.516 | 1:22.011 | 15 |
| 6 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:22.631 | 1:22.188 | 1:22.070 | 17 |
| 7 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:22.758 | 1:22.882 | 1:22.093 | 18 |
| 8 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:22.662 | 1:22.400 | 1:22.220 | 18 |
| 9 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:22.659 | 1:22.067 | 1:22.256 | 19 |
| 10 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:22.727 | 1:22.345 | 1:22.286 | 19 |
| 11 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:22.946 | 1:22.517 | 12 | |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:23.440 | 1:22.779 | 12 |
TEAM QUOTES
Allan McNish, Racing Director: “Overall, I think we got the maximum out of the car today. It’s obviously slightly frustrating to miss out on Q3 by just 0.001 of a second, but we knew coming into Monza that it was likely to be a more challenging weekend for us. Qualifying was incredibly tight, as expected, but we maximised the opportunities we had and put ourselves in the best position possible. With the grid penalties ahead of us, we’ll move up a few places, so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow with Nico and Gabi and make the most of the race.”
Nico Hulkenberg, Car #27
FP3: 11th / 1:23.126 (22 laps)
Q1: 1:23.440 (6 laps)
Q2: 13th / 1:22.779 (6 laps)
“It was a tricky qualifying. Around Monza, getting the timing and the tow right makes a big difference, and in Q1 I found myself in the wrong place a couple of times, which made it difficult to put a proper lap together. Things improved in Q2 and the pace started to come, but by then it was just a little too late to make the next step.
“Tomorrow won’t be straightforward from where we’re starting, but we’ve shown over the last few weekends that we can race well. We’ll look to make progress where we can and make the most of every opportunity that comes our way.”
Gabriel Bortoleto, Car #5
FP3: 13th / 1:23.298 (21 laps)
Q1: 1:22.946 (6 laps)
Q2: 11th / 1:22.517 (6 laps)
“Our last push lap was good, so it’s obviously a shame to miss out on Q3 by such a small margin. I had a little moment with the rear in Turn 8 and lost a bit of time there, but I don’t think there was much more we could have extracted from the car today.
“Overall, I’ve been quite happy with how this weekend has gone so far. The team has done an incredible job and, even at a track we expected to be more challenging for us, we have still managed to be in the mix. I think we can be in the fight for points tomorrow. It won’t be easy, because the cars around us are quick as well, but we’ll make the most of every opportunity.”
PHOTO GALLERY
