Hulkenberg gives Audi first 2026 points in Hungary

Nico Hülkenberg finished ninth from 10th on the grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix, scoring his first points of the 2026 Formula 1 season and delivering Audi’s first points of the year as the team stretched its run to three consecutive Grands Prix with points.

The result came from the kind of clean weekend that had eluded Hülkenberg earlier in the season. He qualified in Q3, started on medium tyres and ran a two-stop race over 70 laps, using his tyre advantage late on to recover positions and secure two World Championship points.

After several near-misses in the first 11 rounds, Hülkenberg made clear what the breakthrough meant. Hülkenberg said it was “a fantastic feeling to finally score these first points of the season,” after “several races this year where we had the pace to score points, but for various reasons things did not come together.” He added that “we always knew the potential was there, so it’s really satisfying to have finally put everything together over the weekend” and that “we maximized what we had in qualifying yesterday and backed it up with a strong race today.”

Audi’s pace in Budapest was strong enough that a double points finish was within reach. Gabriel Bortoleto started 14th and was put on a different approach, trying to make a one-stop strategy work while managing the hard tyre deep into the race. He came home 11th, less than one second behind Arvid Lindblad.

Bortoleto said “it was not an easy race” after having to nurse the hard compound through a long stint, but he also saw the bigger picture in the way Audi closed the first half of the season. He said the team had been doing “an incredible job” and that the Hungary performance was “a very positive thing” ahead of the break.

For Audi, that was the larger significance of Hülkenberg’s breakthrough. Racing Director Alan McNish called three straight points-scoring Grands Prix “another step forward,” praising Hülkenberg for turning a strong weekend into ninth place and noting that Bortoleto came close to making it a double score. McNish said the team would use the summer break to review the first 11 races, build on its recent progress and return ready to continue that momentum at Zandvoort.