The team lost telemetry from the car and could not establish the cause of the issue: as a result, the team withdrew car #27 from the race. The team will investigate the problem in depth to understand it and prevent it from reoccurring.

"To score points in our debut race shows the strength and dedication of this team. We will learn from today, resolve the issue that stopped Nico, and move forward together.

Congratulations to Gabi on delivering the first points for Audi in F1."

"Gabi delivered an outstanding drive today. It was a very mature performance from start to finish. The start wasn’t ideal, which we expected might be a challenge here, but he kept his composure, managed the race extremely well and showed great confidence throughout."

"We chose an aggressive strategy towards the end with the final pit stop to try and put pressure on the cars ahead, and with a slightly different scenario in the closing laps we might even have had the opportunity to fight for P8."

"On the other side of the garage, it was obviously disappointing not to see Nico take the start. He was incredibly motivated for his first race with Audi Revolut F1® Team, so that was a difficult moment for him and for everyone in the team."

"Ultimately, leaving our first Grand Prix with P9 and points on the board is a fantastic way to begin our journey. It’s a historic moment for Audi Revolut F1® Team and something the whole team can be very proud of."

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to compete today. We developed a technical problem on the way to the grid, and it was something we couldn’t resolve in time for the start. The team is investigating now to understand exactly what happened."

"It’s obviously frustrating to miss out on the race and the opportunity to learn more. That said, it’s positive to see the team finish with points through Gabi, which is a great result and a strong way to start the F1® era for Audi. Racing moves quickly, so we reset and go again next week.”

“To finish in the points in our first event as Audi and writing a piece of motorsport history is something the whole team can be extremely proud of. It was a positive race at the end of a good weekend for us: the car and the power unit ran reliably throughout the day, which is a great reward for the enormous effort that went in over the winter to get everything ready for the season."

"The race itself was quite busy and at times a bit chaotic with the new regulations, so there are still many things for us to study and understand better. But the pace was strong, the communication in the garage was excellent and the team executed the race very well."

"Overall, it is probably more than we could have expected from the first weekend. This result gives us a good baseline to build from, but we know there are still many areas where we can improve. There are a lot of races ahead of us, and our focus now is on continuing to learn, develop the car and come back even stronger at the next events.”

"It’s a strong reflection of the hard work that has gone into building this programme and getting us to this point. Unfortunately, we experienced a technical issue at the end of Gabi’s final run which prevented him from participating in Q3, and Nico also had a small problem that affected his last run in Q2."

"Overall, this is a very positive start for the team. It’s both encouraging in terms of performance, and a testament to the collective effort of so many talented people across the organisation."

""P11. Good spot to start and plenty to play for in the race. It was quite a busy qualifying for us. We had a few things to manage early on, so it took a bit of time to really find a rhythm. In the end I had one clean shot at a lap in Q2 and managed to put it together well, which puts us P11 - a solid place to start from. There’s a lot going on in the cockpit with energy management, tyres and traffic... "

"... so it keeps you fully focused every lap, but we’re learning more each time we run. Overall, it’s a positive day for the team. The long runs yesterday felt encouraging and we’re in a good position heading into the race. With these new cars there are still plenty of unknowns, so tomorrow could be quite open and we’ll aim to make the most of any opportunities.”

"Now it’s all eyes on race day! Not the ending we wanted in quali, but nothing that changes our focus. It has been a very positive qualifying for the team. Being in the top ten in our first race weekend as Audi Revolut F1^® Team is something we can all be proud of... "

"... especially considering the amount of work that has gone in over the winter to bring this car together and make it competitive, and to build a new power unit from scratch. Of course, it is frustrating not to be able to take part in Q3 after making it through. "

"We do not yet know exactly what caused the issue at the end of qualifying: I started to lose gears in the middle of the lap and could not make it back to the pits, so it is something we will analyse with the team. From what we have seen so far, it does not look like a major problem and hopefully we can fix it for tomorrow."

"The car has shown good potential. I don't think many people expected us to be fighting for a top-ten position so early, so it is a very encouraging start. Now the focus is on tomorrow. Starting from P10 gives us a good opportunity, and hopefully we can have a strong race and fight with the cars ahead.”

"Overall, it was a decent first Friday of the season. It was mostly clean running, and we managed to get through a good number of laps, which is always important early in the weekend."

"There were a couple of small issues here and there that we need to tidy up, but that’s part of the process. It’s our first time here with the new car, so there’s a lot of information to go through tonight. We’ll analyse everything and see what we can improve for tomorrow, but it’s a solid starting point.”

"It was a positive first day, although there is still a lot of work ahead of us. FP1 was very solid and smooth, which gave us a good baseline from which to start. In FP2, I struggled a little more with a couple of things that we need to address for tomorrow, but that is part of the process with such a new set of regulations."

"At this stage, we are focused on improving the basics, building the foundations before moving to the finer details. There are still many areas to refine with the car and the power unit, and that understanding will only come with time and data. It is still very early in the season, so the priority is to keep learning and improving ourselves.”

Melbourne has hosted the Australian Grand Prix since 1996, when the race moved from Adelaide to Albert Park. The semi street circuit, built around public park roads in the early 1990s, has since become a familiar season opener on the Formula 1® calendar.

For Audi Revolut F1® Team, Melbourne marks the first competitive appearance of the season. The flowing layout around the lake rewards balance and confidence, with exit speed through the chicanes and stability over the bumps shaping race pace from the outset.