Amid the technical controversies and Mercedes' domination at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, another event has almost gone unnoticed: the very solid debut of Audi F1 Team.
After years of preparation and a colossal industrial project – including the design of a complete powertrain and gearbox – few observers imagined seeing Audi scoring points in his first race. And yet, that's exactly what happened in Melbourne.
The hero of the weekend was the young Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto, author of an impressive performance in qualifying.
The rookie succeeded to reach Q3 in Audi's first Formula 1 appearance 1, a result that surprised even the team members. But the session could have been even better.
At the end of Q2, Bortoleto found himself immobilized at the entrance to the pits, unable to restart his car.
The technical director James key explained the situation: The incident is still under investigation. He encountered a problem and was unable to restart the car.. »
« He was standing in the middle of the pit lane entrance, trying to restart the car. It turns out that by performing a full fuel cycle, we could have restarted it. But we weren't certain. »
Despite this incident, the team believes an even better result was possible. In terms of performance, we might have been able to go a little further down in Q3, perhaps a ninth place »
"If someone had told me we'd make it to Q3 and finish in the points for Audi's first time, I would have thought it was a joke!"
During the race, the weekend turned into a historic moment for AudiTaking advantage in particular of the absence of Oscar piastri, victim of an accident during the reconnaissance lap, Bortoleto found himself in a position to play for points.
Despite a difficult start, he managed to climb back up the rankings to ultimately finish ninth.
The Brazilian driver did not hide his surprise. If someone had told me we'd be doing a Q3 and finishing in the points for Audi's first time, I would have thought it was a joke! The team did an incredible job all winter.. »
The only real downside concerns the team's second driver, Nico HulkenbergThe German wasn't even able to start the race.
During the reconnaissance lap, his car stalled just before the grid, which triggered a series of technical problems.
The team director Jonathan Wheatley explained on crash.net :
« During the reconnaissance laps, we lost the telemetry data from Nico's car, so we didn't know what was happening. »
A fluid leak and several technical problems then prevented the car from leaving the garage.
Despite this promising start, Audi remains clear-headed about its actual level. The engine project manager, Mattia binottoacknowledged that the internal combustion engine still lacks power.
The situation is all the more complex because the team is the only one using this powertrain, unlike Mercedes Benz ou Classic Ferrari for sale who have multiple client teams to collect data.
For the team, the priority is now clear: to learn as quickly as possible. Wheatley insists on this point: It's about learning, and we're learning at an incredible speed right now. »
According to him, the potential for development in this new regulation is immense.
« The sophistication of the cars in the first race will be very different from that of the first race in 2027, 2028 or 2029. Audi won't know where its 2026 car is until everyone drops their pants. ».
In the paddock, many expected to see Audi struggling at the back of the grid for several months. The result in Melbourne is already changing the perception of the project.
A Q3, points from the very first race and a car capable of fighting in the middle of the pack: the German manufacturer may have just achieved one of the most promising debuts of any new manufacturer in Formula 1.
