Audi looks back satisfied on the first months in Formula 1, says race director Allan McNish. The German racing team, which participates in the premier class as a factory team after taking over Sauber, has, according to the Scot, found connection with the midfield faster than expected. He sees the fast qualifying sessions as one of the biggest advantages.
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Audi managed to reach Q3 five times in the first eleven races of 2026, twice through Nico Hülkenberg and three times through Gabriel Bortoleto. With twelve points, the team is currently eighth in the championship, with the last three races yielding ten points. The improved performances followed, among other things, after an upgrade package in Austria, which was mainly aimed at improving pace in slow corners. Hülkenberg crowned that progress in Hungary with a ninth place.
McNish, who took over the role of former team boss Jonathan Wheatley before the Miami Grand Prix, looks back positively on the first phase of the project. “I am satisfied,” he said to the press in Budapest. “Since I got involved with the team, I have seen it grow enormously. That shows how much progress we have made. We have gained more confidence and are functioning better and better. Hungary was a tricky race for several reasons, but we handled it well.”
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Audi qualifying better than expected
Especially the performances in qualifying surprised McNish. “I think we perform better there than I expected. I did not think we would be so fast and so consistent, and that we could maintain that level. Of course, there is still plenty of room to take further steps.” Yet the Scot emphasizes that Audi still has plenty of work to do, including in the area of the engine and starts. In Hungary, Hülkenberg immediately lost a position at the start, after which he had to fight back to the points.
“Regarding the things we are less satisfied with or where we can still improve, we definitely need to work on the starts,” McNish explained. “That is something that troubled us again in Budapest.” Nevertheless, he clearly sees an upward trend within Audi. “Yes, there is still a lot of room for improvement, but we have now overtaken Williams in the championship standings. We regularly reach Q3 and score points more consistently. Given the development we are going through as a team, both operationally and technically, I actually expect only to get stronger. We are still in the midfield now and the gap to the top teams is large, but considering we have only completed eleven Grands Prix, I find the midfield a fine starting position.”
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