Audi gets the chance to take an important step in the constructors’ championship during the Hungarian GP. Thanks to two strong performances by Gabriel Bortoleto in recent races, the German team is now only one point behind Williams. With another top-ten finish, the Brazilian can help Audi to eighth place in the championship. Teammate Nico Hülkenberg is also aiming for his first points of the season.
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After Bortoleto’s ninth place in the season opener in Australia, a new points result was a long time coming. That changed during the Grands Prix at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, where the Brazilian finished eighth both times. This brought Audi back into contention with Williams, which is clearly less competitive this season than last year. In the past, the young Brazilian had already done well at the Hungaroring. In 2025, he achieved his best F1 result to date there – with a strong sixth place.
“Scoring points in the last two races has given everyone a huge boost, and we want to build on that,” Bortoleto reacted in the run-up to the weekend. “We have made progress in recent weekends and now the goal is to put that further into practice this weekend. I had a lot of fun here last year, so I can’t wait to return. It’s the last race before the summer break, so it would be fantastic to conclude the first part of the season with yet another strong result for the entire team.”
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First Audi points for Nico Hülkenberg
Audi also hopes that Nico Hülkenberg can finally score his first points of the season. The German had a difficult first half of the season and is still waiting for his first top-ten finish. After a disappointing Belgian GP, he hopes for a flawless weekend in Hungary. “Spa is behind us, we are focusing directly on the next race,” he declared defiantly. “Last weekend we showed that we have potential, so the priority now is to have a trouble-free weekend.”
“The Hungaroring is a completely different circuit,” he added. “If we can get the car into the right window from the first moment and avoid the problems that have plagued us lately, we should be in a good position to fight for points. Moreover, it’s the last race before the summer break,” Hülkenberg concluded. “The goal is to perform well and take something positive into the second half of the season.”
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