Four laps from the chequered flag, Nico Hülkenberg sat P10 and Audi held a point at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP. Then, Carlos Sainz swept past on the long straight at the beginning of the 49th tour, and the German dropped to P11. That move seemed to sum up the Azerbaijan GP weekend of the Audi F1 team. It was a weekend where strong corner speed kept running into a lack of top speed.
Gabriel Bortoleto’s afternoon ended in similar frustration. He crossed the line P13 in Saturday’s race. However, a 10-second post-race penalty for passing Sergio Peréz under yellow flags dropped him to P15. Both cars had started deep in the field after Q1 exits, with Bortoleto P17 and Hülkenberg P18. As a result, Audi left the F1 Azerbaijan GP without a point, even though the race pace looked far healthier Friday had suggested.
Audi’s pace at the Azerbaijan GP showed up in sector 2
Bortoleto rejected the idea that Saturday simply contributed to Friday’s struggles.
“No, not at all. I think the pace was actually very promising in the race. You know, in the, in the sector 2 we were very quick, we were flying comparing to all these cars ahead of us, all the Racing Bulls, Haas. But yeah, just on the straights we were super slow. You know, I was leaving the last corner I think 0.2 from Liam [Lawson] for like five laps and I couldn’t overtake him at the end of the straight, so you know, I couldn’t be closer than that. But it is what it is, you know, we were lucky with this the whole weekend, it’s no news, but we go for the next one.”
The numbers were true. Bortoleto set the quicker of the two Audi fastest laps at the F1 Azerbaijan GP. A 1:46.336 on lap 46, yet he still could not turn that speed into a pass. He then explained what changed after a difficult qualifying day.
“Yeah, I think it’s just, you know, I had the feeling that yesterday we were lacking knowledge on the tyre side and we didn’t put enough temperature [in the tyres]. And in the race was clear that as soon as we put temperature on the tyres we were very quick.”
That tyre lesson gave the Audi drivers something concrete to carry away from the F1 Azerbaijan GP.
Hülkenberg said Audi simply needs more top speed
Hülkenberg reached the same conclusion in blunter terms. He pointed to the straight-line deficit as the reason Audi could not protect tenth place. In their first year making an F1 Power Unit, they are a good way behind Mercedes and Red Bull Powertrains.
“Yeah, we need more top speed. Simple as that. But we didn’t have it today and this weekend. I think that’s a bit the story of the weekend. Lack of top speed and… Yeah, it was looking okay, but then… Arvid [Lindblad] started to, you know, attack the Haas, which slowed us a bit down, which allowed Carlos [Sainz] to get into my… get a good tow and wake and… I mean, Williams is so quick on this straight, he just flew by me and… Yeah, there was no holding that.”
The sequence of moments made the damage clear. Lindblad’s fight with the Haas pair bunched the pack, Sainz grabbed the tow, and the long Baku straight exposed Audi’s weaknesses.
Nico Hülkenberg still found a couple of positives after an afternoon without points. Audi had brought a major upgrade to the F1 Azerbaijan GP, and he valued the fact that the car finished intact with Malaysia and Singapore to come.
“Yeah, I guess. And, you know, no damage also. Two updates are still live, which is always good, you know, in terms of car parts, spares, etc. So, yeah, on the bright side, you know, that’s positive. And a couple of days now, obviously, to digest the upgrade, understand it better, you know, and put a decent package on the road for next week.”
Haas gained ground as Audi head to Sepang
The result stung for the duo because the race offered a real opening. Franco Colapinto locked up and took out his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris. This brought out the Safety Car and scrambled the order. Meanwhile, Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman finished eighth and ninth for Haas. That six-point haul stretched the gap to Audi in the constructors’ standings.
Audi now sits eighth on 17 points, ten adrift of Haas and five clear of Williams after its F1 Azerbaijan GP result. Asked how big a step forward the upgrade package represents, Hülkenberg kept his answer short.
“Oh, we’ll see in a few weeks.”
Audi therefore left Baku with questions, though at least they sat in the right places. The middle sector showed what the new package could do. The straights show what it still could not. Sepang, a week away, offered the first chance to test the fix.
