Audi left the Azerbaijan Grand Prix without points despite Nico Hülkenberg running 10th late in Saturday’s race. Carlos Sainz caught and passed him on Baku’s long straight, leaving Hülkenberg 11th. Gabriel Bortoleto crossed the line 13th, but a post-race penalty dropped him to 15th in the final classification.
Both Audis had started near the back after exiting qualifying in Q1, Bortoleto in 17th and Hülkenberg in 18th. The team kept both drivers out on medium tires before switching Bortoleto to softs on lap 31 and Hülkenberg on lap 33, hoping a late Safety Car would create an opportunity. Hülkenberg reached the points, but said the cars ahead battling cost him time and brought Sainz into his slipstream. Once the Williams was close, Audi’s lack of straight-line speed made the position difficult to defend.
Bortoleto’s final position changed after the stewards reviewed an overtake on Sergio Pérez between Turns 6 and 7 following a Safety Car restart. Marshals were waving yellow flags, although Bortoleto had no matching indication on his steering wheel and his team had told him the Safety Car had not been deployed. The stewards accepted that he had not overtaken under Safety Car conditions, but ruled that the yellow flag itself prohibited the pass. A 10-second penalty moved him from 13th to 15th.
R26 UPGRADES
Baku was the first race for Audi’s extensive R26 update. Bortoleto said the car felt stronger through the middle sector during the race, while both drivers identified straight-line speed as a weakness. That leaves the package difficult to judge from the result alone: neither Audi advanced beyond Q1, and the circuit’s long straight exposed a limitation that shaped their race.
The changes extend well beyond a single wing or floor revision. In Gary Anderson’s analysis for The Race, he examines revisions to the front wing, sidepods, cooling exits, floor details and rear of the car, with particular attention to how Audi is managing airflow around the tires. His assessment explains the scope of the package; its competitive gain will take more than this Baku weekend to establish.
GRAND PRIX RESULTS
FULL RESULTS | WATCH BROADCAST
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME/GAP | LAPS | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:38:02.143 | 51 | 25 |
| 2 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.196 | 51 | 18 |
| 3 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +10.704 | 51 | 15 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +14.136 | 51 | 12 |
| 5 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +14.512 | 51 | 10 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +22.382 | 51 | 8 |
| 7 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +31.159 | 51 | 6 |
| 8 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +31.189 | 51 | 4 |
| 9 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +31.929 | 51 | 2 |
| 10 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +32.416 | 51 | 1 |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +33.231 | 51 | 0 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 15 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +44.230 | 51 | 0 |
DRIVER STANDINGS (TOP 10)
| POS. | DRIVER | NATIONALITY | TEAM | PTS. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Anotonelli | 🇮🇹 ITA | Mercedes | 302 |
| 2 | George Russell | 🇬🇧 GBR | Mercedes | 236 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | 🇬🇧 GBR | Ferrari | 199 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | 🇬🇧 GBR | McLaren | 186 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | 🇲🇨 MON | Ferrari | 179 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | 🇳🇱 NED | Red Bull | 163 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | 🇦🇺 AUS | McLaren | 120 |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | 🇫🇷 FR | Red Bull | 86 |
| 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 | 538 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 378 |
| 3 | McLaren | 306 |
| 4 | Red Bull | 263 |
| 5 | Racing Bulls | 83 |
| 6 | Alpine | 68 |
| 7 | Haas | 27 |
| 8 | Audi | 17 |
| 9 | Williams | 12 |
| 10 | Aston Martin | 3 |
| 11 | Cadillac | 0 |
TEAM SUMMARY
Audi Revolut F1 Team missed out on points at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the opening race of a triple-header, with Nico Hulkenberg running in P10 until the closing stages.
Both drivers produced clean, patient drives on a circuit where the team’s lack of straight-line speed made overtaking and defending difficult. Nico held a place in the top ten before Carlos Sainz closed in and passed him on Baku’s long straight, while Gabriel was unable to make significant progress through the field. The team now heads to Sepang for the Bahrain Grand Prix, where it will continue to optimise the new package introduced this weekend.
TEAM QUOTES
Allan McNish, Racing Director
“Our plan was always to go long and be ready to take advantage of any Safety Car: that helped us run in the points towards the end of the race, which would have been a small reward for all the effort the whole team put in overnight to fight back from a difficult qualifying. We did come close, but always knew this track would not fully suit our car. We leave Baku disappointed, but ready to go again in Sepang in a week’s time, a track whose layout should better suit our car.”
Nico Hulkenberg, Car #27
Race result: 11th
Fastest lap: 1:46.850 (Lap 45)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium) – Lap 33 (New Soft)
“Points looked in reach for a bit, so it’s disappointing to miss out. I was running in P10 towards the end, but the cars ahead started battling, which cost us some time and allowed Carlos to get into my tow. The Williams was very quick down the straight, and there wasn’t much I could do to hold him back. That’s been a bit the story of our weekend. We were missing straight-line speed, and around here that makes it difficult to make progress or defend. We take it on the chin and move on. We have a few days now to go through the data, understand the package better and see what we can get out of it next weekend.”
Gabriel Bortoleto, Car #5
Race result: 15th
Fastest lap: 1:46.336 (Lap 46)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium) – Lap 31 (New Soft)
“It hasn’t been the easiest weekend, but the race itself was quite promising in terms of pace. The new package has been delivering, particularly in the middle sector, where the car felt quite strong. We had good pace behind the other cars, so it was encouraging to see that after some struggles on Thursday and Friday.
“The feeling wasn’t the same on the straights, where we lacked pace. Still, while it’s obviously not ideal to be outside of the points again, I am happy to see the moderate progress we made today: some positives we can take into the next race.”
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