Audi left the Japanese Grand Prix with a mixture of encouragement and frustration after both cars reached the chequered flag for the first time this season — but early‑race struggles ultimately denied the team a chance to score its first points in Formula 1.
The German manufacturer finally managed to get both cars to the grid after a difficult start to its debut campaign, but neither Nico Hülkenberg nor Gabriel Bortoleto got away cleanly when the lights went out. The poor launches left both drivers on the back foot, forcing them into recovery mode for the rest of the afternoon.
Nico Hülkenberg finished 11th, just one place shy of the points, and believed more was possible without the compromised opening lap. “We had good pace and a realistic shot at scoring points, but our race was compromised by a poor start,” he said.
The German dropped from P13 to P19 on the first lap. “Improving our race starts is something we need to focus on as a team over the upcoming weeks. I lost several positions on the opening lap, from P13 to P19, which made things difficult from there.”
Traffic then became his biggest obstacle. “Being stuck in traffic for most of the race limited our opportunities to make progress.”
Hülkenberg also highlighted the challenges of the 2026 regulations. “These cars are still quite tricky to race with the current energy management and overtaking dynamics. Moves can be made, but you end up vulnerable immediately after, so it’s a bit of a trade-off at the moment.”
Still, he left Suzuka encouraged. “On the positive side, it was valuable to complete the race and gather a lot of data. There’s plenty for us to look at and improve, and with a month until Miami, we have time to analyse everything and come back stronger.”
Bortoleto: “The race was quite okay overall.”
Gabriel Bortoleto finished 13th after briefly climbing into the top 10 following the Safety Car. The Brazilian felt the race had potential — but again, the start proved decisive. “The race was quite okay overall: the Safety Car worked in our favour, as I had decided to stay out longer to avoid being stuck behind other cars on harder compounds; our pace wasn’t too bad, although I had some struggles on the straights.”
But the opening seconds set the tone. “What mainly affected us today, unfortunately, was the start: we’ve been knowing since the first race of the season it’s something we need to work on, to try and put things back in place and not compromise the job we do on Saturday.”
With nearly five weeks until Miami, Bortoleto is optimistic about the team’s development window. “Now, with almost five weeks away from racing, we’ll keep our head down and make the most out of this time to work together across our bases and improve our car in order to come back in Miami in May in a better place.”
Binotto: “The race leaves us with mixed feelings.”
Head of Audi’s F1 project Mattia Binotto offered a balanced assessment of the team’s progress. “The race leaves us with mixed feelings, with both positives and areas to improve.”
Reliability was a major positive. “On the positive side, having both cars start the race and complete the full distance is an important step forward for the team. Reliability was strong throughout, and operationally the race was well executed, including consistent pit stops without issues.”
Binotto was also encouraged by the car’s underlying pace. “The pace of the car was also encouraging. We have shown that we can compete around the top ten, and Nico’s race in particular demonstrated that, fighting well through the field and making overtakes on some quick cars to finish just outside the points. It underlines the underlying potential of the package.”
He also praised Bortoleto’s weekend. “Gabriel had a strong weekend, but today we didn’t put him in the conditions to express all his potential: he would have probably been up there on the cusp of the points with Nico, based on the good job he did yesterday and in practice.”
But the weaknesses were clear. “At the same time, there are clear areas where we need to improve. Our start performance is not yet where it needs to be, and we lost significant ground on the opening lap, which ultimately nullified the good work done yesterday and compromised the race for both drivers.”
Energy management remains a key focus. “More broadly, drivability and energy management remain key areas of focus. As a young package, which is what we are, we still have a lot to learn and refine.”
With a long break ahead, Audi will now dig into the data. “We now have some time ahead of us to analyse the data and continue developing the car. While we did not achieve the points we were targeting, there are solid foundations in place, and our focus is on coming back stronger in the next phase of the season.”
