Audi driver Nico Hülkenberg left Spa-Francorchamps feeling boxed in by circumstances outside his control, explaining how his 2026 F1 Belgian GP hinged on a Virtual Safety Car, as well as the team’s ongoing straight-line speed deficit. He finished P13.
Hülkenberg agreed that his second stint of the Belgian GP became defined by the cars he had rejoined the race behind. While gaining a few seconds through the VSC pit stop, his awkward pit release timing left him emerging from the pit lane directly in the middle of a midfield battle.
Lucky VSC timing
He was asked whether his problems in the race came from being stuck in traffic. As Gabriel Bortoleto showed in clean air, the Audi was fast if it did not get stuck behind cars faster than on the straights, such as the Racing Bulls and Alpine.
While the VSC gained him a position over Franco Colapinto, he would lose out on the straights. That put him at the back of a P10 train with the Argentinian, Gasly and Lawson.
“Yeah, basically. I mean, I think the virtual safety car somehow obviously gained us a few seconds, but it was unfortunately, needed to be a few seconds longer because I came out right behind, together with Pierre and Arvid.”
“So then I was in that fight, and with the lack of straight-line speed we have, I was kind of stuck there and couldn’t do much.”
Although the broadcast suggested he had had another bad race start, Hülkenberg didn’t fully agree.
“Yeah, I mean it didn’t feel bad. It felt, actually, for our standards, one of the better ones. But, i mean, we did lose positions. So yeah, we need to review.”
Encouragement from Bortoleto’s points haul
With 2026 F1 Audi teammate Gabriel Bortoleto scoring solid points at this high-speed and demanding track, Hülkenberg sees reasons for optimism heading into the next race weekend in Budapest.
“Yeah, yeah, I think next week for sure. It’s obviously much less crowded there, so a lot more corners. So it should, on paper, play into our hands, but you never know. Yeah, a clean weekend without issues would be good.”
A clipping close call
Another moment occurred when he was informed about 2026 F1 Williams driver Alex Albon’s movement under braking. The Thai claimed his movements were due to clipping at the Bus Stop.
This was discussed because there was a moment during the race that could have resulted in car-to-car contact with the Audi.
“He was moving because of clipping?” Hülkenberg replied.
He clarified, “The car doesn’t move from clipping. The car moves when you move the steering. It’s no biggie. It was just a bit, you know, could have been a contact there coming into turn 18. It was a bit on the edge, but no, yeah, no hard feelings.”
Energy limitations shut down opportunites for overtakes
With overtakes during the race possible for other drivers thanks to a variety of different race and deployment strategies, Hülkenberg confirmed that such options weren’t available to him in the 2026 F1 Belgian GP.
“Not really, because it’s too energy starved for that. And, you know, you have too much clipping everywhere. And as soon as you use energy a bit, overspend somewhere, you pay it back immediately the next straight. So it was very hard to offset somewhere. “
Hülkenberg’s Spa afternoon was ultimately shaped by energy constraints, straight-line limitations, and timing. He is hopeful that a more technical circuit will give Audi a proper chance to be able to fight the grid; as long as they can deliver a clean weekend.
