• Nico Hülkenberg finishes 11th at the Chinese Grand Prix, completing his first full race distance of the season.
  • Gabriel Bortoleto forced to withdraw before the race start after a technical issue on the way to the grid.

Johannesburg, March 2026 – Audi South Africa reflects on a challenging but valuable weekend for the Audi Revolut F1 Team at the Chinese Grand Prix, where Nico Hülkenberg finished 11th after completing the full race distance in Shanghai. The race marked an important step in the team’s early-season development as it continues to gather valuable data during its debut Formula 1 campaign.

Hülkenberg completes full race distance in Shanghai 

Nico Hülkenberg delivered a determined drive to bring the car home in 11th position, narrowly missing out on points in a tightly contested midfield battle.

The result marked the German driver’s first full race distance of the season after being unable to start the opening round in Melbourne due to a technical issue on the way to the grid.

Reflecting on the race, Hülkenberg said:

“It wasn’t the smoothest race, but the main thing for me was finally getting a full distance under the belt after missing Melbourne. These cars are still pretty new territory , especially with energy management, so every lap is useful right now. There’s a lot to unpack from today. We’ll go through everything next week, tidy a few things up and go again in Japan.”

Bortoleto unable to start following technical issue

On the other side of the garage, Gabriel Bortoleto’s car developed a technical issue on the way to the grid, forcing the team to return the car to the garage ahead of the race start.

Despite efforts to diagnose the issue, the team was unable to resolve the problem in time, resulting in the withdrawal of the car before the race began.

The team will now analyse the incident in detail to determine the cause and ensure it does not happen again.

Focus shifts to the Japanese Grand Prix

While the race weekend presented its challenges, completing a full race distance with Hülkenberg provided the team with valuable performance and reliability data as it continues to develop the car and power unit under Formula 1’s new technical regulations. 

The Audi Revolut F1 Team will now turn its attention to the Japanese Grand Prix, which takes place at the Suzuka International Racing Course from 3–5 April 2026. The race will mark the third round of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship and provides the team with another opportunity to build momentum early in the season.