Audi once again came agonisingly close to scoring Formula 1 points in Baku, with Nico Hülkenberg finishing just outside the top 10 after a weekend in which a lack of top speed proved particularly costly. The German driver had briefly looked capable of securing a points finish, but Audi struggled to compete on the long main straight of the Azerbaijan street circuit.
It was another frustrating outcome in Audi’s first Formula 1 season, during which the team has repeatedly found itself on the edge of the points. Both Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto have finished close to the top 10 on several occasions, often crossing the line in 11th or 12th place.
Audi narrowly misses the points again in Baku
That pattern continued in Azerbaijan for Nico Hülkenberg, bringing an overall weekend to forget for Audi in several respects. Beyond missing another top-10 finish, the team also lost ground to Haas in the Constructors’ Championship after Haas placed both of its drivers in the points for the first time this season.
Nico Hülkenberg’s hopes were ultimately damaged by Carlos Sainz, whose Williams had the straight-line speed needed to get ahead. The German explained how close Audi had been to salvaging a result before the situation changed late in the race.
“For a while the points seemed within reach, so it’s a shame to have missed out. Towards the end I was 10th, but the cars ahead started battling each other; that cost us time and allowed Carlos to use my slipstream. The Williams was very fast on the straights and there wasn’t much I could do to keep him behind.”
For Nico Hülkenberg, the decisive weakness was one that had affected Audi throughout the Baku weekend.
“That was somewhat the story of our weekend: we lacked top speed and, at this track, that makes it difficult both to gain positions and to defend. We take the hit and look ahead. Now we have a few days to analyse the data, understand the package better and see what we can achieve next weekend.”
Audi’s repeated battles around the edge of the top 10 make every missed opportunity important as the midfield fight develops, with points increasingly valuable in the Formula 1 championship standings.
Gabriel Bortoleto encouraged by Audi’s new package
Gabriel Bortoleto also had little reason to celebrate after finishing the Azerbaijan race in 15th place. However, the Brazilian driver highlighted several positive signs from Audi’s latest package, particularly the car’s competitiveness through the middle sector.
“It wasn’t the easiest weekend, but the race itself was quite promising in terms of pace. The new package gave us some good indications, particularly in the middle sector, where the car proved quite competitive. We had good pace when we were behind other cars, so it was encouraging to notice that after the difficulties we encountered on Thursday and Friday.”
Like Nico Hülkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto identified straight-line performance as the area where Audi was losing out, although he felt the progress made during the weekend offered something positive to carry forward.
“The feeling was different on the straights, where we lacked pace. However, although it’s obviously not ideal to remain outside the points again, I’m happy with the moderate progress we made today: positive aspects that we can take with us to the next race.”
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