Nico Hülkenberg delivered Audi’s best qualifying result of the season in a rain-hit session at Interlagos, finishing sixth before penalties for George Russell and Charles Leclerc promoted him to fourth on the São Paulo Grand Prix grid. Team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto’s home qualifying ended in Q1 after a crash at Turn 12, leaving the Brazilian 22nd in the session.
Saturday morning’s dry FP3 gave Hülkenberg his first running of the weekend after technical problems kept him out of both Friday sessions. He completed 27 laps and finished 13th with a 1:12.865, while Bortoleto continued his encouraging practice form in tenth, recording a 1:12.644 over 24 laps.
Heavy rain delayed qualifying and substantially changed the conditions. Hülkenberg quickly found confidence on both full wet and intermediate tyres, setting the fifth-fastest time in Q1 and again in Q2. His 1:28.668 in Q3 secured sixth, putting Audi on the second row once the penalties were applied. At the circuit where he claimed his only Formula 1 pole in 2010, another wet session rewarded his experience and gave the team its strongest starting position to date.
Bortoleto’s afternoon unravelled early when he locked up approaching Turn 12, slid across the wet grass and struck the barriers. He recovered to the pits, but rear wing damage prevented him from returning despite his mechanics’ repair efforts. With another wet race expected, Sunday offers contrasting challenges for Audi: converting Hülkenberg’s grid position into points while finding opportunities for Bortoleto to recover from the back.
SCHEDULE
| DAY/DATE | ACTIVITY | TRACK TIME | CET | EST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 06 Nov | Practice 1 | 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM | 16:30-17:30 | 10:30 PM – 11:30 PM |
| Fri 06 Nov | Practice 2 | 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM | 20:00-21:00 | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM |
| Sat 07 Nov | Practice 3 | 11:30 PM – 12:30 PM | 15:30-16:30 | 9:30 PM – 10:30 PM |
| Sat 07 Nov | Qualifying | 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM | 19:00-20:00 | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM |
| Sun 08 Nov | Grand Prix | 2:00 PM | 18:00 | 12:00 PM |
RACE INFORMATION
AUDI REVOLUT F1 | FORMULA 1 SERIES | OFFICIAL BRASILF1 WEBSITE | GRAND PRIX EVENTS
FREE PRACTICE #3 RESULTS
FULL RESULTS | WATCH BROADCAST
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME/GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:11.622 | 19 |
| 2 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.025 | 21 |
| 3 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.131 | 22 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.184 | 22 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.274 | 30 |
| 6 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.313 | 30 |
| 7 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +0.438 | 25 |
| 8 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +0.549 | 20 |
| 9 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +0.591 | 24 |
| 10 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +1.022 | 24 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +1.243 | 27 |
QUALIFYING RESULTS
FULL RESULTS | WATCH BROADCAST
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | 1 | Q2 | Q3 | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Lando Norris | Ferrari | 1:30.939 | 1:29.207 | 1:27.470 | 24 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:31.206 | 1:26.745 | 1:27.674 | 23 |
| 3 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:32.229 | 1:28.082 | 1:28.095 | 23 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:32.121 | 1:28.082 | 1:28.289 | 22 |
| 5 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:32.085 | 1:27.049 | 1:28.321 | 24 |
| 6 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:31.693 | 1:28.361 | 1:28.668 | 23 |
| 7 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:32.059 | 1:27.218 | 1:28.763 | 24 |
| 8 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:33.030 | 1:29.130 | 1:29.831 | 22 |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:32.092 | 1:29.072 | 1:30.311 | 23 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:33.150 | 1:28.918 | 1:30.456 | 19 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 22 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:41.564 | 5 |
STARTING GRID
| LEFT SIDE | RIGHT SIDE (RACING LINE) |
|---|---|
| Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes (P2) | Lando Norris, McLaren (P1) |
| Nico Hulkenberg, Audi (P4) | Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls (P3) |
| Oliver Bearman, Haas (P6) | Isack Hadjar, Red Bull (P5) |
| Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin (P8) | George Russell, Mercedes (P7) |
| Oscar Piastri, McLaren (P10) | Alexander Albon, Williams (P9) |
| Arvid Lindblad, Red Bull (P12) | Rafael Câmara, Haas (P11) |
| Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (P14) | Carlos Sainz, Williams(P13) |
| Pierre Gasly, Alpine (P16) | Franco Colapinto, Alpine (P15) |
| Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac (P18) | Lance Stroll, Aston Martin (P17) |
| Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari (P20) | Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi (P19) |
| Sergio Perez, Cadillac (P22) | Max Verstappen, Red Bulls (P21) |
TEAM SUMMARY
It was a mixed bag for Audi on Saturday. Bortoleto looked quick in FP3, but the Brazilian was one of the first to crash in Q1 in treacherous conditions down at Turn 12. He slid over the grass and hit the barriers, damaging his rear wing. Although he managed to make it back to the pits, the damage was too severe to get him back out. Hulkenberg though used all his experience to keep the car on track, making it all the way to Q3. He grabbed sixth, which becomes a very positive P4 for the Grand Prix.
TEAM QUOTES
Allan McNish, Racing Director: “First of all, my heart goes out to Gabi, who had been so quick throughout the weekend. Conditions were extremely difficult in qualifying, and unfortunately he made a small mistake, which was enough to bring his session to an end. However, knowing his strength of character, I am sure he will be fighting back tomorrow.
“On the other side of the garage, Nico delivered another fantastic performance. His team gave him a great car, and he once again demonstrated his pace in the wet, showing why he is the Regenmeister, the rain master. Qualifying sixth overall and moving up to fourth on the grid following penalties for other drivers is a well-deserved reward for him and the team.
“Overall, it is our best qualifying performance to date, and we are very much looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”
Nico Hulkenberg, Car #27
FP3: 13th / 1:12.865 (27 laps)
Q1: 1:31.693 (11 laps)
Q2: 1:28.361 (8 laps)
Q3: 6th / 1:28.668 (4 laps)
“Going into qualifying, I just wanted to give it my best shot. I’ve raced here quite a few times, so I know the circuit well, although missing yesterday’s running was obviously not ideal. The key was to keep it clean in very tricky conditions. We had a good session this morning and I felt confident straight away during qualifying, both on the full wets and the intermediates, which allowed me to put together some good laps.
“There is still a big job ahead of us: it’s not going to be easy, especially with a wet race expected tomorrow. We’ll need to stay sharp, remain focused and aim to bring home the best possible result.”
Gabriel Bortoleto, Car #5
FP3: 10th / 1:12.644 (24 laps)
Q1: 22nd / 1:41.564 (5 laps)
“It’s been a tough qualifying for me, and obviously not the way I wanted it to go. I locked up early on at turn 12, went straight into the grass and could not stop the car from hitting the wall. Unfortunately, that resulted in rear wing damage and, eventually, and end to my session. Still, I want to thank my mechanics for having tried to repair my car in time to get back to track. Tomorrow is another day, so I want to clear my head and focus on making the most of the race.”
PHOTO GALLERY
