Gabriel Bortoleto ends Audi’s points drought as Nico Hulkenberg suffers another setback at Silverstone
Silverstone delivered mixed emotions for Audi, as the German manufacturer finally returned to the points after a seven-race drought while also enduring another disappointing retirement on the opposite side of the garage.
It was the team’s first top-10 finish since the opening round of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Australia. On that occasion, it was Gabriel Bortoleto who finished ninth in Melbourne, and once again the Brazilian was the man to deliver, crossing the line in eighth place at the British Grand Prix to secure four valuable championship points.
Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg was unable to finish the race after retiring on lap 36 because of a technical issue. It marked his third retirement of the season, adding to the disappointment of his DNS in Australia and continuing Audi’s frustrating reliability struggles.
Gabriel Bortoleto: “This result proves how much progress we’ve made”
Starting from 11th on the grid, Gabriel Bortoleto produced another composed race to climb into eighth place and score four important points for Audi in the Constructors’ Championship.
After several Grands Prix in which the four-ring manufacturer had repeatedly fallen just short of the top ten, Silverstone finally rewarded the team’s steady development.
“I’m really happy with the result because the team truly deserves it,” Gabriel Bortoleto said after the race. “We’ve gone through several races without scoring points, and it’s been difficult when you can see the car’s potential but can’t turn it into a tangible result. So this is definitely a huge boost for everyone. We’ve finally shown why we’re here and what our real pace is. At the moment, on circuits like this with long straights, we’re still a little behind Racing Bulls. Realistically, I think eighth place reflects where we are right now.”
Thanks to Gabriel Bortoleto’s result, Audi now sits just five points behind Williams and 15 behind Haas in the Constructors’ standings. While the team’s race pace appears increasingly competitive, reliability continues to be its biggest weakness, something once again highlighted by Nico Hulkenberg’s retirement.
That makes Gabriel Bortoleto’s performance even more significant, especially considering the difficult weekend he experienced before the race. During qualifying, he only managed to get out on track towards the end of the opening Q1 session, making his recovery on Sunday even more impressive.
“It was a long weekend. We were almost eliminated in Q1, and the race result could have been completely different if we’d started further back. The team did an incredible job putting everything together, getting the car into the right performance window, and then delivering both a strong qualifying session and a solid race. I’m really happy for everyone, both here at the track and back at Hinwil and Neuburg. Everyone has worked incredibly hard for this, and this result is another sign of the progress we’ve made with our latest upgrade package.”
Nico Hulkenberg’s race ends early after technical problems
The other side of the Audi garage experienced a much more frustrating afternoon.
Just one year after claiming the first and only Formula 1 podium of his career at Silverstone, Nico Hulkenberg was forced to retire from this year’s British Grand Prix after 36 laps because of a gearbox issue.
“It was a weekend where we learned a lot, but it ended in a frustrating way for us,” the German explained after the race. “Something wasn’t quite right from the very beginning. Even on the laps to the starting grid, I could already feel that something was unusual, and the start itself wasn’t good enough. That’s clearly something we need to work on. During the race, I had to push a little too hard in dirty air and had a small spin, which made tyre management more difficult. Then we developed a gearbox problem that forced us to retire.”
Audi remains optimistic despite another reliability setback
Although his own afternoon ended prematurely, Nico Hulkenberg was quick to congratulate his teammate for securing Audi’s long-awaited return to the points.
“It’s fantastic to see Gabriel Bortoleto scoring points,” he said. “It’s a really important result for both him and Audi, and it shows the potential we have when everything comes together. The competition is incredibly close, and although we’ve come close on several occasions, we haven’t managed to convert those opportunities. Momentum can change very quickly in this sport, and I’m confident it will swing back in our favour. We just need to keep working, stay focused, and continue pushing forward together as a team.”
Silverstone ultimately provided both encouragement and frustration for Audi. Gabriel Bortoleto’s performance demonstrated that the latest upgrades are delivering measurable progress, while Nico Hulkenberg’s retirement served as another reminder that reliability remains the key obstacle preventing the team from consistently fighting inside the top ten.
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