🇧🇭 Audi F1 R:16.2026 Bahrain Grand Prix (Sunday)

Audi finished just outside the points at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with Nico Hülkenberg taking 11th after losing tenth place on the final lap. Gabriel Bortoleto finished 18th following contact with Carlos Sainz that damaged his car and brought a ten-second penalty. For Audi, it was a second consecutive race in which a late pass denied Hülkenberg a points finish.

Heavy rain at Sepang delayed the start and left the field divided between slicks and intermediates. Both Audi drivers initially selected dry tires but switched to intermediates at the end of the formation lap, a decision that helped them recover ground as those on slicks struggled. As the circuit dried, Hülkenberg returned to soft tires on lap eight, with Bortoleto making the same change one lap later.

Bortoleto’s opportunity to build on Saturday’s Q3 appearance unraveled at the restart following the first Safety Car. Contact with Sainz damaged his front wing and floor, forcing an additional stop and compromising the car’s performance for the remainder of the race. The accompanying ten-second penalty further limited his prospects, leaving him to bring the damaged Audi home in 18th.

Hülkenberg remained in the fight for points and ran as high as ninth in the closing stages. A late Safety Car caused by Alex Albon’s retirement compressed the field, while trouble for George Russell and Lando Norris at the final restart further shuffled the order. Norris subsequently passed Hülkenberg, followed by Arvid Lindblad on the final lap, dropping the Audi driver to 11th. Despite a cleaner performance than in qualifying and effective tire calls, Hülkenberg lacked the pace to defend a top-ten finish.

Sepang showed improved competitiveness without delivering a points return. Bortoleto’s qualifying performance and Hülkenberg’s race offered encouraging signs for Audi’s recent upgrade package, but damage to one car and insufficient pace in the other prevented the team from capitalizing. Audi now heads to Singapore next weekend for the final round of the Asian triple-header.

---

GRAND PRIX RESULTS

FULL RESULTS | WATCH BROADCAST

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME/GAP	LAPS	POINTS
1	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:47:14.808	55	25
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+2.307	55	18
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+4.919	55	15
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+7.258	55	12
5	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+8.571	55	10
6	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+9.454	55	8
7	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+12.753	55	6
8	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+13.372	55	4
9	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+13.993	55	2
10	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+15.928	55	1
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+17.404	55	0
–	–	–	–	–	–	–
18	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+28.233	55	0

---

DRIVER STANDINGS (TOP 10)

POS.	DRIVER	NATIONALITY	TEAM	PTS.
1	Kimi Anotonelli	🇮🇹 ITA	Mercedes	320
2	George Russell	🇬🇧 GBR	Mercedes	236
3	Lewis Hamilton	🇬🇧 GBR	Ferrari	214
4	Charles Leclerc	🇲🇨 MON	Ferrari	191
5	Lando Norris	🇬🇧 GBR	McLaren	188
6	Max Verstappen	🇳🇱 NED	Red Bull	188
7	Oscar Piastri	🇦🇺 AUS	McLaren	128
8	Isack Hadjar	🇫🇷 FR	Red Bull	96
9	Liam Lawson	🇳🇿 NZL	Racing Bulls	65
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	556
2	Ferrari	405
3	McLaren	316
4	Red Bull	298
5	Racing Bulls	90
6	Alpine	68
7	Haas	27
8	Audi	17
9	Williams	12
10	Aston Martin	7
11	Cadillac	0

---

TEAM SUMMARY

Audi Revolut F1 Team fought fiercely in a chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, missing out on a point on the very last lap, as Nico Hulkenberg finished 11th, with Gabriel Bortoleto 18th.

The Sepang International Circuit was battered by a monsoon shower as car headed out to the grid, causing a delay to the start of the race. Once proceedings were underway, a split of tyre choices saw half the field start on intermediate tyres, with the other half on slicks. Both Audi Revolut F1 Team drivers opted initially for dry tyres but switched for inters at the end of the formation lap – a decisive choice to change that pushed them up the field. 

As the race continued, Nico emerged as a serious points contender and was running as high as ninth in the closing stages. Gabriel’s afternoon was compromised by contact with Carlos Sainz at the restart from the first Safety Car, which caused damage to his car and left him with a 10-second penalty. The race was blown wide open by another, late Safety Car, caused by Alex Albon’s retirement, while further drama emerged with George Russell and Lando Norris running into trouble at the final restart.

Ultimately, Nico couldn’t hold on to P9, being passed by Norris and Arvid Lindblad in the final laps and had to settle for 11^thplace. Gabriel crossed the line in P18, nursing his damaged car to the end.

The team will return to action in next week’s Singapore Grand Prix, the final leg of the Asian triple-header.

---

TEAM QUOTES

Allan McNish, Racing Director
“It was a difficult race. The weather conditions at the start were right on the edge, the crossover point between tyres, which was reflected by the split on the grid between slicks and intermediates. Already from the formation lap, it became clear to us that the intermediates were the correct choice, so we made the change and were able to recover to roughly the position we had been in before stopping for slicks on lap eight.

“Unfortunately, Gabi had contact with Sainz, which caused some damage and required an additional pit stop, and he ultimately received a ten-second penalty as well. That effectively took him out of the fight for points. Nico, on the other hand, had a strong run throughout the race: I think the strategy and the tyre choices we made were the right ones. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to bring us into the points, with Lindblad getting past Nico on the final lap.”

“It’s disappointing to miss out on the points on the final lap for the second race running. We have looked competitive throughout the weekend, but we need to keep working hard to manage to find a little more that will put us back in the top ten.”

Nico Hulkenberg, Car #27
Race result: 11^th
Fastest lap: 1:41.394 (Lap 54)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (after red flag, New Soft) – Lap 2 (New Inter) – Lap 8 (New Soft) – Lap 32 (New Soft) – Lap 45 (Used Soft)

“It was an eventful race, and overall, we were in the fight for points but ultimately finished P11 again. I was much happier with my performance compared to yesterday. At the beginning we made the right call to switch to the intermediates early and, although it cost us initially, we recovered that within a lap. This put us in a good position for the rest of the race. 

“There was plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing. In the end, though, we just didn’t quite have the pace to hold on to the points. Realistically, we only got into that position because of trouble to the cars ahead, so it was always going to be a long shot. Still, it was a clean race from my side, many learnings for us as a team and now it’s straight on to Singapore.”

Gabriel Bortoleto, Car #5
Race result: 18^th
Fastest lap: 1:41.382 (Lap 36)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (after red flag, New Soft) – Lap 2 (New Inter) – Lap 9 (Used Soft) – Lap 15 (New Hard) – Lap 35 (Used Soft) – Lap 44 (Used Soft)

“First of all, I want to apologise to Carlos. I made contact with him at the restart and, unfortunately, compromised his race, as well as my own. I got damage to both my front wing and floor, and then we were too far behind to fight for anything. It wasn’t a clean race after that either, it was a difficult Sunday overall. Now we take the positives and look ahead to Singapore: hopefully we can have a good result there.”

---

PHOTO GALLERY