Nico Hülkenberg delivered one of Audi’s strongest performances of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Singapore, using clever positioning, tyre management and electrical energy deployment to keep the faster Mercedes of George Russell behind in the closing stages. Audi Racing Director Allan McNish praised the German’s experience and “race intelligence” after the team recorded its biggest points haul of the year.
Audi scored in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix at Marina Bay, overcoming concerns about Singapore’s high temperatures and humidity to secure valuable championship points. Everything finally came together for the German manufacturer on a weekend when the characteristics of the R26 proved particularly well suited to the circuit.
Why Singapore suited the Audi R26
Singapore had been one of the events Audi had highlighted on its calendar. Despite a certain lack of power unit performance in races held in extremely hot conditions, an issue that had emerged at Sepang and was also acknowledged by the drivers, the Marina Bay circuit was expected on paper to suit the characteristics of the R26 more effectively.
The straights have gained greater importance at Singapore in recent years, but Marina Bay remains a highly specific circuit. One characteristic the R26 has consistently demonstrated this season is that, from a chassis perspective, it is one of the strongest cars in the midfield.
Its additional aerodynamic downforce has also helped compensate, at least partially, for what the power unit lacks. That has been evident even at power-sensitive circuits such as Barcelona, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. It is a pattern similar to that experienced by another team suffering from a horsepower deficit, Ferrari.
Like Ferrari, however, Audi arrived in Singapore with the potential to perform well. Perhaps not enough to challenge for victory, but certainly enough to score important championship points. In Audi’s case, that expectation was justified even more strongly when, for the first time this season, the team finished in the points in both Saturday’s Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix, with Nico Hülkenberg playing a crucial role.
Nico Hülkenberg makes the difference on the opening lap
In both races, Nico Hülkenberg’s ability to put himself into the right spaces on the opening lap ultimately made the difference.
Power unit disparities tend to become more pronounced over a single qualifying lap than they do over a race distance, which meant Nico Hülkenberg started outside the top 10 on both occasions. If Audi was going to score points, an excellent opening lap was therefore essential.
In the wet Sprint, Nico Hülkenberg gained two positions with two overtakes around the outside of Turn 5. During Sunday’s Grand Prix, he created the space he needed by passing Arvid Lindblad at the start before attacking Pierre Gasly at Turn 3.
The move on Pierre Gasly proved particularly important because both drivers had started on the medium tyre, the same compound Audi had selected for Nico Hülkenberg.
Audi manages the medium tyre strategy
Like Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hülkenberg suffered a degree of pace deficit compared with drivers who had started on the soft tyre. The soft had established itself throughout the weekend as the strongest compound thanks to the significant additional grip provided by the track surface.
Even so, Nico Hülkenberg managed to keep the gap to Liam Lawson below three seconds while simultaneously building a similar advantage over Pierre Gasly.
At that stage, Alpine’s only realistic way of recovering the position was to attempt an undercut. The team therefore became the first in the midfield to pull the trigger, with Audi immediately covering the move by bringing Nico Hülkenberg in on the following lap.
The Audi pit stop was not especially quick, but it was still enough to keep the German ahead of Pierre Gasly. Audi was also helped by the fact that, after returning to the circuit, the Frenchman became trapped in traffic behind Carlos Sainz and Isack Hadjar.
How Nico Hülkenberg kept George Russell behind
The most impressive part of Nico Hülkenberg’s race came later, when he managed to keep George Russell behind during the closing stages.
Overtaking at Singapore is never straightforward and, in some respects, Audi’s decision to start Nico Hülkenberg on the medium tyre eventually worked in his favour. It gave him a more competitive compound during the final phase of the race and reduced the performance difference between his Audi and George Russell’s Mercedes.
That, however, was only part of the explanation. George Russell had still managed to fight his way back into the points, and what stood out most was the way Nico Hülkenberg managed the final part of the race.
“It was a really, really positive weekend for him,” Audi Racing Director Allan McNish said after the race. “Not necessarily just because of today, but because of the way he achieved the result in Sprint Qualifying, the Sprint and then the race. He demonstrated all of his experience. And I would also say his race intelligence.”
“At the end, in fact, he had to deal with around ten laps with George, who was clearly faster, but he managed to be quick in the right parts of the circuit, defending well without overdoing the defence. So I think he managed the situation really intelligently.”
Hülkenberg controls the crucial braking zones
Allan McNish’s assessment was supported by what happened on track. There were several occasions when George Russell came extremely close to completing an overtake, particularly under braking for Turn 7.
However, Nico Hülkenberg consistently managed to exit the low-speed sections with just enough of an advantage to protect the inside line under braking. That prevented George Russell from creating an alternative opportunity, with the Mercedes driver repeatedly finding himself forced onto the outside line.
The same tactical intelligence could also be seen in the way Nico Hülkenberg used his electrical energy. At certain points he sacrificed performance through particular corners so that he could deploy the electrical boost more effectively along the straights.
Liam Lawson tow gives Audi another defensive weapon
Curiously, the strategy also indirectly helped Nico Hülkenberg close the gap to Liam Lawson. The Racing Bulls driver eventually provided the German with a slipstream, giving Nico Hülkenberg additional assistance in his defence against George Russell.
The effect became significant enough that George Russell eventually had to drop back to create some space and allow his brakes to recover.
“At the beginning I didn’t think it would be possible [to keep Russell behind], but then I found a better rhythm and managed to reduce the gap to Liam,” Nico Hülkenberg explained.
“In addition, I benefited from a kind of indirect slipstream, which helped us quite a lot on the straight, allowing us to gain a little top speed.”
The result capped Audi’s strongest points-scoring weekend of the season and highlighted how Nico Hülkenberg was able to combine the R26’s chassis strengths with careful tyre management, defensive positioning and intelligent energy deployment to resist a Mercedes that possessed greater outright pace.
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