HALF TERM REPORT: Audi’s best and worst moments from 2026 so far and driver head-to-heads

Audi came into the 2026 F1 season as a works team for the first time – having taken over the former Sauber squad – and, with a steady driver line-up of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, hopes of success were high. The year started strong with points in the opener in Australia, but the team then went six races without adding to their tally. They also suffered upheaval when Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley departed.

However, upgrades for races before the summer break saw them finish in the top 10 in Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and at the Hungaroring – leaving them eighth in the Constructors' Championship with 12 points. Here’s the lowdown on their 2026 so far…

Best finish

Bortoleto – P8 in Britain and Belgium

Fans may have expected Nico Hulkenberg to have brought home the bulk of Audi's points in 2026 – given the German's strong showing with 51 points in 2025 – but it is actually team mate Gabriel Bortoleto who is responsible for 10 of the 12 on the board. Not only did he score in Audi's debut race in Melbourne, he finished P8 at both Silverstone and Spa.

Out of those two races, Belgium was a particularly strong showing for the Brazilian. He had a strong qualifying performance by making it into Q3, managed tyre degradation effectively on Spa's high speed sectors and took home points for the second race in a row.

Bortoleto also did it in front of 500 Audi F1 employees who came to watch in Spa – something he was especially pleased about when speaking after the race. The Belgian Grand Prix also marked four years since Audi first revealed their intentions to enter F1, making his P8 a reminder of the progress they have made since then.

Qualifying head-to-head

Hulkenberg 6-5 Bortoleto

The statistics are fairly evenly split at Audi. Hulkenberg holds the advantage in the Qualifying head-to-head, though that is only by six to five against Bortoleto.

The team has successfully reached Q3 five times in their debut 11 rounds with their best Qualifying result the Brazilian's eight place on the grid in Belgium.

Race head-to-head

Hulkenberg 4-7 Bortoleto

The 21-year-old is leading in the Grand Prix head-to-head stats, finishing ahead of his veteran team mate at seven out of 11 so far, but Hulkenberg has had more than his fair share of bad luck in the reliability stakes.

The German has suffered three DNFs and a DNS in Australia, while Bortoleto crossed the line at every race bar China where he failed to start. And let's not forget Hulkenberg's freak moment involving a piece of gravel and his car's kill switch... yes that will feature later.

Could the tide be turning though? At the last race in Hungary before the summer break, Hulkenberg came out on top in the inter-team battle both in Qualifying and in the race – finishing two places ahead of Bortoleto in P9.

Best moment

After scoring points on Audi's debut F1 race in Australia, the team then went on a run of eight races without adding to their tally. But bringing back 10 points in the last three Grands Prix, leaving them eighth in the Teams' Championship before the summer shutdown, seems to indicate the start of an upwards trajectory.

Bortoleto's double points finish in Silverstone and Spa off the back of upgrades gave the team a real boost, and it was quickly followed by Hulkenberg finally scoring points after a run of reliability issues, bad luck and regular finishes just outside the top 10.

Speaking after Hungary and his P9, Hulkenberg said the points had been a long time coming for him.

"There were many occasions and opportunities this year where it should've happened but it didn’t for various reasons, so that was annoying but that’s racing sometimes for you," he said."I and the team knew it’s there – it was just a matter of time and putting it together. Finally, the piece fell into place."

Worst moment

There's not much debate on this one after Hulkenberg was the victim of possibly one of the strangest examples of bad luck ever seen in F1. In Barcelona, whilst fighting for P9, the German came to a sudden stop after a piece of gravel kicked up by the Racing Bull of Liam Lawson had hit the Audi's kill switch – immediately cutting out all the electrics.

He managed to make it back to the pits but his mechanics were unable to restart the car.

“It was a very frustrating end to what had been a very good weekend for us as a team,” explained Audi Racing Director Allan McNish.

"Nico’s car shut down after Lawson ran wide and kicked up gravel, which struck the safety fire switch. That triggered an automatic safety function designed to shut the car down in an emergency situation."

Going forward

2026 was always going to be a year for Audi to build on the foundations of the previous Sauber team, alongside becoming a works outfit for the first time with their own power unit. Halfway through the season and the project looks to be on track. Yes, they had that run without points, but the three consecutive hauls before the break does show progress.

The partnership between Hulkenberg and Bortoleto also remains strong – the combination of the veteran and the young talent seems to be working well still and with that P9 for the German in Hungary, it is not just one driver bringing home the points now.

Speaking to the Audi F1 website after Budapest, McNish was feeling positive about how the second half of the season would unfold. "We head into the summer break with positive momentum and valuable lessons from the first part of the season," he said. "We will use this period to recharge, keep building on our foundations and come back ready to continue our development in the second half of the year."

Head of Audi's F1 project Mattia Binotto has classified 2026 and 2027 as foundational construction years, especially as they are new engine manufacturers coming in during one of the biggest regulation changes the sport has seen for a while. But it feels like positivity in the team is growing towards their ultimate goal of winning a world championship by 2030.