Audi in Madrid: a point thanks to the pit crew and a ‘breathtaking’ tyre change

Nico Hülkenberg scored a point at the Spanish Grand Prix – thanks in part to some strong support from his pit crew. His Audi team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto finished 13th in a race that most fans, and the driver himself, found rather uneventful.

Audi’s race director Allan McNish, on the other hand, was thoroughly entertained by the Madrid race: “It’s always like that. You’re fighting for the points and it’s so close – there’s always a certain amount of tension, that’s for sure. From our point of view, it was difficult at the start, and we dropped back to 12th and 15th. Then Gabi made up one place, bringing him back up to 14th, but we still weren’t where we’d started.”

‘Brilliant’ pit stops propelled Audi forward

The turning point then came with the pit stops. McNish: “Then the VSC phase involving Stroll gave Nico the opportunity to make a pit stop.” Lance Stroll came to a halt on lap 14 with a brake failure, triggering first a yellow flag and then a Virtual Safety Car. McNish: “Nico was on the soft tyres as we’d opted for a split strategy. The team in the pits did a brilliant job, as they moved him up the field. It was an absolutely breathtaking pit stop, and so the point at the end of the race was really down to the lads in the pits.”

Two quick stops in one go!

During Hülkenberg’s tyre change on lap 14, the stop took just 2.34 seconds. That’s quick! And Audi were also quick with Gabriel Bortoleto’s pit stop ten laps from the end, clocking 2.38 seconds.

In fact, Audi thus delivered two of the five fastest pit stops of the race. Both of George Russell’s Mercedes tyre changes were even faster (2.14 and 2.19 seconds), as was Red Bull Racing’s tyre change for Max Verstappen on lap 14 (also under the VSC, just like Hülkenberg’s). The Austrians completed the tyre change in 2.34 seconds, just like Audi did for Hülkenberg. Impressive!

Topic of the week

Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring: track – hit or miss?

The people of Madrid had set their sights high for their city’s first Formula 1 World Championship race since 1981. But have the high expectations for the new Madring mixed-circuit track really been met?

Mathias Brunner

Read More

TV Program

Live

Baku: 1. Freies Training

FIA Formula One World Championship

24.09.2026 - 10:15

Incidentally, apart from the Racing Bulls’ record of 1.99 seconds in Hungary, the best pit stops of the season are all just over two seconds. In the DHL pit stop rankings, Audi is in fifth place. The leader, as in the actual World Championship table, is Mercedes.