Nico Hülkenberg finally realized the potential of the R26 by securing a well-deserved ninth place, while Gabriel Bortoleto came very close to delivering a double points finish for Audi.
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Audi F1 confirmed its progress at the Hungarian Grand Prix by scoring points for the third consecutive race.
After several missed opportunities since the start of the season, Hülkenberg turned an excellent qualifying session, ending tenth on the grid, into a solid result.
Hülkenberg opens his account
Thanks to a perfectly controlled race, the German scored his first points of the year, a reward he had been waiting for several Grands Prix: “It’s a great feeling to finally get these first points of the season. There have been several races this year where we had the pace to score, but for various reasons, things didn’t come together. We always knew the potential was there, so it’s really satisfying to have finally managed to put everything together over the weekend.”
The veteran German praised the work of the entire team, who managed to get the most out of the car throughout the weekend: “We maximized what we had in qualifying and followed up with a solid race today. Everyone executed their job perfectly and it’s rewarding to head into the summer break with points in the championship.”
This result confirms Audi’s rise, which has now scored points in three consecutive Grands Prix and seems to be gradually establishing itself in the midfield battle.
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Hülkenberg remains cautious about the goals for the rest of the season: “In terms of pure performance, we can start dreaming of fifth place. In the championship, it will be more complicated. We will take advantage of this break to analyze everything we have learned during this first half of the season and come back ready to continue this momentum at Zandvoort.”
Bortoleto narrowly misses out on points
On his side, Gabriel Bortoleto also delivered an encouraging performance. Starting 14th, the Brazilian long hoped to join his teammate in the top 10 before missing out by less than a second to Arvid Lindblad.
Running a one-stop strategy, Bortoleto had to manage a very long stint on hard tires, a choice that complicated his race: “I gave it my all today and it was clearly not an easy race. We tried to make a one-stop strategy work, and the hard tire was particularly difficult to manage compared to the soft. I had to manage a lot throughout the race.”
Despite this frustration, the Audi driver mainly highlights the progress made by his team: “In the end, finishing less than a second behind Arvid Lindblad after the race we had is still a good result. These are very positive signs before the summer break. The team is doing an incredible job and I’m very happy with what we have achieved so far. I hope we will continue on this path during the second half of the season.”
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