Audi experienced a mixed opening day at the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP, as Gabriel Bortoleto delivered encouraging performances in both practice sessions while technical problems severely limited Freddie Slater and Nico Hülkenberg’s running.
The German manufacturer showed promising pace at Interlagos, with Bortoleto finishing eighth in both FP1 and FP2. However, the team lost valuable track time after a technical issue brought Slater’s rookie appearance to an early end and subsequently prevented Hülkenberg from completing a lap during the afternoon session.
Audi arrived in Brazil hoping to build on its recent improvements as its battle with Haas for seventh in the Constructors’ Championship continued. Although Bortoleto’s performance suggested the team could challenge towards the front of the midfield, reliability remained a concern following similar difficulties in Mexico City. FP1 results
Technical problems disrupt Slater’s F1 opportunity
Slater replaced Hülkenberg for FP1, making another appearance in Audi’s 2026 machinery after his first practice outing in Mexico City also suffered technical difficulties.
The 18-year-old completed just seven laps before his car stopped on track and triggered a red flag. The interruption ended his session prematurely, leaving him at the bottom of the classification.
Despite his disappointment, Slater remained positive about the experience and the limited running he completed.
“Yeah, of course. As a driver, you just want to drive. That’s what we love to do. But at the end of the day, I know it’s motorsport and things can happen.”
“And I know that’s part of motorsport sometimes. But I think, as a general positive note, the laps I did were actually really positive. On the hard tyre, I get some good, valuable lessons.”
“So we look at the positives and move on.”
The importance of gaining experience
Although mechanical problems disrupted both of his recent practice opportunities, Slater emphasised the personal significance of driving a Formula 1 car during a Grand Prix weekend.
“Well, it’s been a massive, massive satisfaction.”
“It’s a kid’s dream come true. It’s something I’ve been dreaming of since I’ve been four or five years old. And now to finally sit in a Formula 1 car on a Formula 1 weekend.”
“It’s just been so satisfying, but also just a special moment for me. So a lot has come from it. Some really good lessons as well.”
“And now we look forward to kind of building the relationship with the team and kind of listen to Gabi [Bortoleto] and Nico [Hülkenberg] throughout the weekend. So I think it’s been a positive lesson.”
The jump from F3 to F1
The step from Formula 3 machinery to Formula 1 also presented a significant technical challenge, particularly with the complexity of the 2026 cars and their energy management systems.
“I think it’s just how these cars are. I think how technically advanced they are with all the battery, etc. Very tricky to understand, obviously, coming from Formula 3 as well.”
“So I think there’s just been so many little lessons that I’ve learnt. So, yeah, it’s definitely something that’s going to help me in the future.”
Slater added that even his limited mileage helped him develop a clearer understanding of how to approach the machinery.
“Yeah, and also just feeling-wise, just to be like, OK, this is how a 2026 F1 car feels like. That’s the thing. I think that’s what’s now a bit more isolated in my head of, OK, this is what it needs to be driven like in certain situations.”
“And, yeah, we’ll hopefully in the future be able to build on that. So, yeah, I think it’s been a good lesson.”
McNish explains Audi’s reliability problems
Audi’s Allan McNish provided further insight into the technical problems that affected Slater and subsequently prevented Hülkenberg from participating in FP2 at the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP.
The team initially suspected an issue around the gearbox, but its early attempts to resolve the problem proved unsuccessful.
“I think it was a bit like Mexico.”
“No, completely different, but it was the same as Mexico where we had the problem right at the beginning and Freddie [Slater], he basically couldn’t shift and so that was it. It was done and dusted for him after a couple of laps and it took a bit of time to find it but we couldn’t fix it by the time we got into, well we tried, but it was at the point where we weren’t going to achieve it by the time FP2 would have finished so in that respect then we had to sort of abandon ship if you like and then prepare it now for FP3. So, annoying.”
Investigating what went wrong
McNish explained that Audi initially investigated the wrong area, which cost the team valuable time.
“No, no, no, we basically, we thought it was somewhere else in the gearbox area but it wasn’t and so we built the car back up ready to go and then ultimately it hadn’t solved the problem so we were chasing it through the car effectively and then once we did know where it was then that was too late to be able to repair in that respect.”
The setback left Hülkenberg without any running on Friday, although McNish remained confident that the experienced German could recover quickly once the team returned his car to working order.
“It was 100% a motorsport experience and it was an annoying one.”
“I think the one good thing is that we’ve got a good baseline with Gabi [Bortoleto], that’s a strong point and the second part is it’s Nico [Hülkenberg] and Nico knows his way around here anyway so getting up to speed, I’m quite sure he’ll be up to speed straight away, I don’t see a problem with that. But like you said, Gabi [Bortoleto] had a good run, he was confident, good feeling. Feedback was pretty strong right from the first lap so I think he’s comfortable with what we’ve got around here at the moment.”
Bortoleto provides encouragement on home soil
While the other side of the garage struggled, Bortoleto delivered two consistent sessions in front of his home crowd.
The Brazilian finished eighth in FP1 before repeating that result in FP2 with a 1:11.780, placing him ahead of Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman.
His performance provided Audi with valuable information ahead of qualifying, particularly as the team continued evaluating its recent development package.
Bortoleto expressed satisfaction with both the circuit conditions and his car’s behaviour.
“Yeah, the track was quite grippy today, FP2 especially, so quite in a happy place. I think the car was behaving well, I was driving well today.”
Although he had not experienced the same technical issues, Bortoleto acknowledged the problems affecting Hülkenberg’s car and hoped his teammate could return to competitive form.
“I have no clue what happened to his car, so honestly, my car has been working okay this weekend and hopefully he can keep up like this and hopefully they fix also Nico’s [Hülkenberg] car because we have good performance this weekend, I’m sure he can come strong as well.”
Reliability has become an important concern for Audi following its difficult Mexico City weekend. Asked whether further problems could emerge, Bortoleto admitted that the team could not guarantee a trouble-free remainder of the weekend.
“Look, I cannot predict the future, I hope not. You know, I think we had enough in Mexico and now with Nico’s [Hülkenberg] car here, so I think everyone is working hard and trying their best to not have any issues.”
Audi confident in its development progress
Despite the technical setbacks, McNish believes Audi’s recent upgrades have continued to improve its competitiveness.
Bortoleto’s strong middle-sector performance and encouraging tyre behaviour suggested that Interlagos could suit the team’s package, although McNish remained cautious about the challenge from its midfield rivals.
“Yeah, I do, I think, you know, if you look at our performance relative to from when we brought the package in it’s only got stronger and stronger and I think the circuit characteristics obviously do help that, there’s no question about it. We’re very strong in a couple of sectors, that middle sector looked really good there, the tyre life was quite good as well so I think overall, feeling pretty good.”
“But, I caveat that by looking at the fact that I don’t think you can ever discount Racing Bulls or Alpine because they do develop well through Saturdays, they have done that consistently well but certainly we can only control what we’ve got and I think we’ve done a pretty good job so far with that side of the garage.”
Audi’s eighth-place finishes demonstrated its potential, but the team must now convert that pace into a stronger qualifying performance while ensuring both cars remain reliable.
McNish praises Slater despite limited mileage
McNish also praised Slater’s attitude and performance during his two disrupted rookie appearances.
Despite the limited running, he believes the 18-year-old has already shown that he can handle the demands of Formula 1 and integrate successfully into the team.
“Limited laps, but there’s two things that I think stood out. One, he’s integrated into the team very well, like as if he had been there all year and the second thing is, you’ve got to remember, he’s 18 and he’s only driven an F3 car, it’s the most powerful car he’s driven and for the laps he did and the laps that he did this morning were absolutely spot on. So it fills me with a bit of confidence that the decision to put him in early into FP1s was the right one and he can handle it and so from that perspective, to see him actually running a full session would be really good.”
“Obviously it’s not possible this year in terms of FP1 side of things but it was good performance for what we saw and as expected in a way.”
While Friday delivered disappointment for Slater and Hülkenberg, Audi could still take encouragement from Bortoleto’s pace during the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP Friday sessions, and the positive feedback surrounding its latest developments.
With the team now focused on preparing Hülkenberg’s car for FP3, Saturday will provide an important opportunity to establish whether Audi can turn its promising Friday performance into a competitive qualifying result at the 2026 F1 São Paulo GP.
