Nico Hülkenberg (Audi): Why he lost 10th place in Baku

Germany’s Nico Hülkenberg (39) put in an encouraging performance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Following a disappointing qualifying session for Audi and starting from 18th on the grid, the Emmerich-born driver steadily worked his way up the field in his 264th Formula 1 Grand Prix, though he naturally also benefited from retirements and mistakes made by his rivals.

Hülki had already noted ahead of the Grand Prix on the streets of Baku: “We often see chaotic races and unexpected twists here. You have to keep a cool head and be in the right place at the right time.”

And the Audi driver was on the spot: in the final stages of the race, he was in tenth place – just as he had been just under two weeks earlier in Madrid. But then something went wrong.

Hülkenberg explains: “The race was okay. I got through it, kept it clean and stayed out of all the incidents. I was tenth right up until the end.”

“But in the end, the Williams behind me was simply too fast on the straights, and unfortunately there was no stopping it. Carlos Sainz just flew past me on the straight. That’s pretty much the story of our weekend: we lacked speed on the straights. That’s a major factor in Baku.”

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

Sepang: 1. Freies Training

FIA Formula One World Championship

02.10.2026 - 06:15

Audi Sport Director Allan McNish: “It was always clear to us that Baku isn’t the ideal circuit for our car at the moment, despite all the improvements made to the car. We should be more competitive at the upcoming race in Malaysia.”

Nico Hülkenberg said of the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia: “I also believe that the track characteristics at Sepang suit our car much better. What’s more, we’ve got some time to analyse and optimise the update. And then we should be back on the points again.”

With Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman finishing 8th and 9th (the American team’s first points since Monaco!), the gap between Haas and Audi in the Constructors’ Championship has widened once again. Haas now have 27 points, Audi 17, with 8th place in the World Championship at stake.