Audi moved closer to the front of the midfield in Saturday qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix, with Nico Hülkenberg finishing 11th and Gabriel Bortoleto 14th. Hülkenberg missed Q3 by just three hundredths of a second, underlining the narrow margins separating the teams contesting the final places in the top 10. Both Audis advanced through Q1, providing a clearer indication of the car’s potential after Friday’s limited running.
Hülkenberg followed 11th in FP3 with steady progress through qualifying, recording a 1:17.306 in Q2. He also retained a fresh set of soft tyres for the race, adding an option as Audi evaluates its strategy. Bortoleto set no time in final practice, with mechanics from both sides of the garage working to prepare his car for qualifying. Despite his limited preparation, he recorded a 1:17.727 in Q1 before finishing Q2 with a 1:17.680 as track evolution and changing balance made it harder to find further improvement.
The qualifying performance puts Audi within reach of the points, although Bortoleto’s previously reported five-place grid penalty complicates his recovery from 14th. For Hülkenberg, the proximity to Q3 offers encouragement that Audi can compete in the midfield battle. Managing power-unit temperatures and cooling at Mexico City’s altitude will be central to converting that pace into a result on Sunday.
SCHEDULE
| DAY/DATE | ACTIVITY | TRACK TIME | CET | EST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 23 Oct | Practice 1 | 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM | 19:30-21:30 | 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM |
| Fri 23 Oct | Practice 2 | 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM | 23:00-24:00 | 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM |
| Sat 24 Oct | Practice 3 | 11:30 PM – 12:30 PM | 19:30-21:30 | 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM |
| Sat 24 Oct | Qualifying | 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM | 23:00-24:00 | 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM |
| Sun 25 Oct | Grand Prix | 2:00 PM | 22:00 | 6:00 PM |
RACE INFORMATION
AUDI REVOLUT F1 | FORMULA 1 SERIES | OFFICIAL MEXICO CITY GP WEBSITE | GRAND PRIX EVENTS | MEXICO GP SMART MAP
FREE PRACTICE #3 RESULTS
FULL RESULTS | WATCH BROADCAST
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME/GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:17.600 | 26 |
| 2 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.001 | 24 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.117 | 21 |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.195 | 20 |
| 5 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.351 | 21 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.469 | 18 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.507 | 27 |
| 8 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +0.509 | 19 |
| 9 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +0.513 | 28 |
| 10 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +0.537 | 29 |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +0.960 | 32 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 21 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 2 |
QUALIFYING RESULTS
FULL RESULTS | WATCH BROADCAST
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | 1 | Q2 | Q3 | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:17.341 | 1:16.953 | 1:16.514 | 20 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:17.659 | 1:17.027 | 1:16.523 | 22 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:17.506 | 1:17.027 | 1:16.523 | 24 |
| 4 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:17.943 | 1:16.876 | 1:16.692 | 14 |
| 5 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:17.918 | 1:17.133 | 1:16.707 | 24 |
| 6 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:17.733 | 1:17.133 | 1:16.707 | 24 |
| 7 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:17.385 | 1:17.047 | 1:16.900 | 20 |
| 8 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:18.210 | 1:17.135 | 1:16.900 | 20 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:18.194 | 1:17.278 | 1:17.153 | 20 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:17.868 | 1:17.306 | 19 | |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 13 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:17.727 | 1:17.680 |
STARTING GRID
| LEFT SIDE | RIGHT SIDE (RACING LINE) |
|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari (P1) | George Russell, Mercedes (P2) |
| Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (P3) | Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes (P4) |
| Max Verstappen, Red Bull (P5) | Lando Norris, McLaren (P6) |
| Isack Hadjar, Red Bull (P7) | Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls (P8) |
| Pierre Gasly, Alpine (P9) | Nico Hulkenberg, Audi (P10) |
| Franco Colapinto, Alpine (P11) | Oscar Piastri, McLaren (P12) |
| Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi (P13) | Oliver Bearman, Haas (P14) |
| Carlos Sainz, Williams (P15) | Alexander Albon, Williams (P16) |
| Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin (P17) | Ryo Hirakawa, Haas (P18) |
| Lance Stroll, Aston Martin (P19) | Sergio Perez, Cadillac (P20) |
| Valterri Bottas, Cadillac (P21) | Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls (P22) |
TEAM QUOTES
Allan McNish, Racing Director: “After a very difficult Friday and Saturday morning, the team recovered extremely well, with Nico qualifyingP11 and Gabi P14. For Gabi to go straight into qualifying with so little track time and produce that performance was exceptional. Great credit also goes to his mechanics, supported by the crew from Nico’s car, for ensuring his car was ready and giving him the opportunity to deliver. Nico extracted everything we had in the car today, finishing just three hundredths shy and tantalisingly close to a place in Q3. It was a tremendous effort across the team, and those starting positions give us plenty to race for tomorrow.”
Nico Hulkenberg, Car #27
FP3: 11th / 1:18.560 (32 laps)
Q1: 1:17.868 (10 laps)
Q2: 11th / 1:17.306 (9 laps)
“It was a pretty good qualifying session overall. We made steady progress throughout, the laps were clean and I don’t think there was much more left on the table. Of course, missing out on Q3 by just three hundredths is a bit of a shame, but that’s how tight things are in the midfield. P11 isn’t a bad place to start from, and we’ve also got a fresh set of soft tyres available, which could come in handy tomorrow.
“The race here is always a tough one, particularly when it comes to managing temperatures and cooling the power unit. We’ll look at our strategy options tonight and see what we can make of it tomorrow.”
Gabriel Bortoleto, Car #5
FP3: 21st / No time set
Q1: 1:17.727(10 laps)
Q2: 14th / 1:17.680 (9 laps)
“It was a shame not to be able to take part in FP3 earlier today, but the mechanics have done an incredible job getting the car back together and ready for Qualifying, so I want to say a big thank you to the whole team for their efforts. At least, I have now had some more laps under my belt before going into the race tomorrow, which is a positive considering everything that has happened so far this weekend.
“Q1 felt really good, and I even felt we had the potential to make it into Q3. However, with the track evolving and our balance changing, it became a bit more challenging to adapt, especially given the lack of practice and fine-tuning. It is difficult to predict how tomorrow will pan out for us, but we will try to keep it clean and make the most of our opportunities.”
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