Strategic precision results in points for Audi Revolut F1 Team at Spanish Grand Prix
The Audi Revolut F1 Team earned a hard-fought championship point at the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix hosted at the brand-new Madring street circuit, highlighted by a masterclass in teamwork and strategy from Nico Hulkenberg to secure a 10th-place finish.
On a tight, technical layout where track position was paramount and overtaking proved difficult, the team relied on tactical smarts and rapid pit stops to elevate Hulkenberg through the field over the 57-lap distance. Capitalising on precision timing from the pit wall, the German driver successfully undercut rivals to break into the top 10 and seal the final points-paying position.
On the other side of the garage, Gabriel Bortoleto delivered a strong, disciplined drive. Starting on a hard compound tyre, the Brazilian went long in his opening stint to maximise potential strategy plays later in the afternoon. However, with the race running cleanly without late Safety Car or Red Flag interruptions to compress the field, Bortoleto crossed the line in 13th place.
Hulkenberg’s 10th-place finish elevates the Audi Revolut F1 Team’s season total to 17 points, closing the gap to just four points shy of seventh position in the Constructors' Championship.
Earlier in the day, Audi Driver Development Programme talent Freddie Slater brought his remarkable maiden FIA Formula 3 campaign to a close. Following a stellar run of eight podium finishes in eight consecutive rounds, the young Briton narrowly missed out on the Drivers' Championship title to finish as season runner-up. Despite the agonizingly close finish, Slater’s exceptional race craft, formidable speed and maturity throughout the year firmly established him as one of the standout rising stars in single-seater series.
Allan McNish, Racing Director: “Overall, we’re happy to have gained a point. It was always going to be a difficult race from a strategy point of view, with overtaking being very difficult and it looking strongly like a one-stop race. We dropped positions again at the start, but from there I was very pleased with how we worked as a team.
“We played a real team game today. Nico switched from the soft onto the hard tyre, while we ran an alternative strategy with Gabi which covered pretty much every scenario. Gabi did a great job to run very long on the hard, with the hope that a Safety Car, Virtual Safety Car or red flag later in the race could give him a significant tyre advantage, or a free stop, and propel him back into the points. On the other side, Nico was very strong on both the soft and the hard and came very close to getting ahead of Lindblad at the end.
“Ultimately, I have to say the point today was delivered by the team in the pits. Nico came in behind Ocon and went out ahead of him after a fantastically quick stop, and the team repeated that performance when Gabi came in. It was a very good team effort, strategically, in the pits and from both drivers. It’s another point for us, and now we look forward to Baku.”
Nico Hülkenberg (Car 27): "We got the maximum out of what we had today. Starting on the soft tyre meant the early Virtual Safety Car was the right window for us to pit, and the pit crew did a fantastic job to get me ahead of Esteban [Ocon]. That was probably the key moment of our race because it gave us the track position we needed.
“From there, it was all about managing the tyres. Overtaking was very difficult, with everyone running at a similar pace, so there wasn't much room to make further progress. We've been towards the top of this midfield fight for a while now; hopefully we will soon make the extra step we need to keep moving forward."
Gabriel Bortoleto (Car 5): “We got unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car today, which pretty much messed up with our plans, and after that nothing else happened until the end of the race – not much more we could have done from there, especially as chances to overtake were slim.
“Overall, it's been a weekend of learnings. It wasn’t the best, but it was not all that bad either, and I have quite enjoyed racing around here. In qualifying, we were close to making it into Q3 again, and that was where our pace has been all weekend. Now, a week to recharge and get back to work before we head to Baku in two weeks.”
*Information provided by the publicist.
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