Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto recorded the highest points finish for Audi at the 2026 F1 British GP, finishing the race in P8, which the Brazilian believes to be a sign of the progress made by the team since the season opener in Melbourne.
Starting the 2026 F1 British GP from P11, Bortoleto initially dropped a few positions after the start, but by Lap 5, the Audi driver had fought himself to P10, a position he held throughout most of the race until Antonelli’s issues and Max Verstappen’s late crash promoted him to P8.
Pitting under the Safety Car, prompted by Verstappen’s crash on Lap 48, Bortoleto hoped for a last-lap shootout to gain further positions. However, the British GP finished under the Safety Car, leaving the 21-year-old with no opportunity to advance further.
In the print media pen following the 2026 F1 British GP, Bortoletto recalled how he prepared for a restart until he was informed the race would not restart.
“Well, I just heard the safety car is going to restart, so I just started working my tyres and my brakes. And then I heard there was a mistake, it’s not going to restart. I said: ‘OK, fine.’
“I mean, it doesn’t change my race. It would be nice to fight in the last lap. I had new tyres against not new tyres of the Racing Bull, so maybe something could have been done there.
“But it is what it is. Still, we capitalise on points.”
P8 a pay-off for hard work
The 2026 F1 British GP marked the second time Bortoleto scored points, since the season opener in Melbourne, where he finished in P9. To the Brazilian, it feels like several “lifetimes” ago, since Melbourne, as he points to the “effort” Audi has made to improve the car since then, with hard work paying off with a strong P8 at Silverstone.
“Two lifetimes. Three, four. I don’t know, it’s crazy. I mean, it’s even difficult to think that Melbourne has been this year.
“So much work, so much effort from the team. Finally, we managed to put it there.”
Bortoleto on Audi’s progress
Since the beginning of the season, Audi has faced issues such as botched starts and reliability concerns. However, over the last few races, Audi has made progress, highlighted by Bortoleto consistently finishing on the cusp of points.
The 21-year-old notes that recent progress is due to both increased reliability and putting “things together.”
“I think it’s a bit of both. I think we have been able to now start to put things together and not have many problems in the car. Still, we have things to solve, obviously, like every team.
“But I think we are able to now put a bit more clean weekends and we are able to show our true pace.
“I believe we are there with the Racing Bulls, fighting for that type of position.”
During the 2026 F1 British GP, Audi and Bortoleto benefited from the misfortunes of Piastri, Verstappen, and Championship leader Antonelli, who, under normal circumstances, would have likely finished ahead. However, the fact that Audi was in a position to benefit shows that Audi needs to continue its path.
“When races like today happened, we had three cars, I think, that should be ahead of us didn’t finish, we are able to score good points.
“So, we just need to keep doing what we are doing.”
Bortoleto lamenting less than ideal 2026 British GP Qualifying
Having scored a solid position in the race, Bortoleto laments the issues he faced in Qualifying for the 2026 F1 British GP, believing he could have advanced to Q3, which would have marked another positive step. Starting in the top 10 would certainly have been advantageous, says Bortoleto, even though he was ultimately satisfied with the outcome of the British GP.
“Yeah, yesterday I had a few issues in qualifying. Obviously, at the beginning, I had a gearbox problem in Q1. So I had to catch up the whole qualifying into Q2.
“Then in Q2 I had a few… A big snap from my side into T6, plus an energy problem out of T9 that cost me a tenth and a bit. So, I was very frustrated yesterday because I saw that we could have been in Q3 in a good position, and we didn’t capitalise on that.
“And I felt very, very sad for that. But at the end of the day, we have been able to put a good race.
“And we are honestly where we should be. And the car has been performing well. I think I did a good drive today, and I’m happy with the points.”
Bortoleto about complaints ahead of the 2026 F1 British GP
Ahead of the 2026 F1 British GP weekend, several drivers had voiced concerns about the Silverstone Circuit’s high-speed corners, saying it had lost some of its “magic” due to the characteristics of the new generation of cars.
Asked about his view, Bortoleto shared that, to him, nothing was “lost”. Seeing as the cars were still able to go around Copse fast, the Brazilian does feel it is just a deviation from the previous generation’s feel.
He believes the moaning should end.
“I don’t think it lost the magic of the sport. We are still driving fucking quick through Copse. It’s a 280, so I’m still lifting to do that corner.
“It’s not that it’s easy flat that you’re like, oh, this is — you’re not using all the grip we have. Obviously, last year it was a different concept.
“But I think we should turn the page. That’s the regulations we’re living right now.
“If there are still people complaining about it, just move the page. That’s the regulations we have until 2030, if I understood correctly.
“And then in 2030, when we go to the new regulations, we talk about it again. But we cannot spend three years talking about the same the same problem every time because that’s what we have.
“The cars are still fun to drive. It’s different. We need to adapt to that. And it’s life.”
