2026 Japanese Grand Prix – Saturday 🇯🇵

Audi Revolut F1 Team returned to Q3 with another encouraging qualifying performance at Suzuka. Carrying strong pace from practice into Saturday, Gabriel Bortoleto secured a place in the top ten once again, qualifying ninth fastest, while Nico Hülkenberg narrowly missed out on Q3 and will start 13th on the grid.

With competitive speed shown throughout all three practice sessions, the team heads into Sunday with confidence for what looks set to be another tightly fought race in the midfield.

Mattia Binotto said it had been a good weekend so far and that the team could be satisfied with where it stands. He was pleased to see Gabriel reach Q3 and disappointed Nico missed out, especially as he had the potential to be there. Binotto added that the margins remain extremely tight and that the focus for Sunday will be on the start, with overtaking at Suzuka always difficult. Clean execution will be vital.

Nico Hülkenberg (Car 27)

FP3: P7 – 1:30.658 (21 laps)

Q1: 1:30.358 (8 laps)

Q2: P13 – 1:30.387 (6 laps)

Nico said qualifying once again showed how tight the field is. He felt Q2 was not clean enough across both runs, which cost him a place in Q3, but said the car felt decent and Audi remains right in the mix. With several teams fighting around the edge of the top ten, he expects an interesting race and says the priority is to stay clean, execute well and move forward.

Gabriel Bortoleto (Car 5)

FP3: P9 – 1:31.000 (21 laps)

Q1: 1:30.359 (8 laps)

Q2: 1:29.990 (6 laps)

Q3: P9 – 1:30.274 (6 laps)

Gabriel said he was very happy with qualifying and with the package the team gave him. Building confidence through Q1 and Q2, he put together strong laps to secure another top ten start. He added there is still more to come with further fine-tuning, but starting inside the top ten gives the team a real chance to fight for points on Sunday.

Audi F1 Fans ⭕⭕⭕⭕

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