Audi Revolut F1® Team car Audi R26 at the pit stop

01 July 2026

Flat out from Friday: the unique Sprint weekend challenge.

Audi Revolut F1® Team heads to Silverstone for the fourth Sprint weekend in the team’s maiden season.

F1® Sprint weekends present a unique challenge for Audi Revolut F1® Team. The change in weekend format demands more from the team and its drivers – though with greater risk comes greater potential reward. With two opportunities to score points, every preparatory lap can prove vital.

Tree-lined residential street with traditional English houses under a clear blue sky.

Where the Sprint
was born.

At the 2026 British Grand Prix, the Sprint format will return to Silverstone for the first time since 2021. The track hosted the inaugural Sprint event five years ago. There have been 27 Sprints since and though the format has changed over the years, it remains a 100km, 30-minute dash from lights out to chequered flag.

Previously, the Sprint set the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix, but since 2023 it has been a standalone event with its own qualifying session which ultimately rewards the top eight finishers with points. With no pit stops, pure pace and overtaking ability is vital to securing a good result in the Sprint.

Rolling green countryside under a bright summer sky while cows ar strolling o the grass

No time to waste.

Formula 1®’s weekend format changes at Sprint events, where preparation is key to success on track. Instead of three hours of Free Practice, on-track running is limited to just a single hour-long session before the first competitive action of the weekend, stripping away the luxury of extensive overnight telemetry analysis and simulator correlation.

It means that Free Practice 1 becomes more important, with an increased focus on successfully completing the run plan to gather the maximum data possible on tyres, balance and track evolution ahead of Sprint Qualifying.

Perfecting the setup of the Audi R26 during this time is critical and requires synergy between the drivers, engineers and the team behind the scenes at the factories across Hinwil, Neuburg and Bicester. Sprint weekends place greater emphasis on arriving with a strong baseline setup, rewarding those who are able to quickly find the correct operating window.

Heading into Friday afternoon, Sprint Qualifying is a shortened version of the traditional qualifying format which sets the grid for Saturday’s Sprint. The reduced session times typically leave drivers with a limited opportunity to deliver the perfect lap in each stage of qualifying.

Side view of the Audi R26 in the pit lane as mechanics prepare for the race.

In a difference to regular qualifying, rules stipulate that medium tyres must be used in SQ1 and SQ2, with the soft compound reserved for SQ3. With no margin for error, the drivers must be razor-focused to climb as high up the grid as possible.

Audi Revolut F1® Team is yet to progress to SQ3 on Sprint weekends, but has come agonisingly close to doing so in the three Sprint Qualifying sessions so far this year. Nico and Gabi have missed the cut by fine margins of under half a tenth of a second at each Sprint round in 2026. Both drivers have exited in SQ2 and qualified between 11th and 14th for each of the three Sprints to date.

Saturday under pressure.

Close up of the rear section of the Audi Revolut F1® Team car near the pit lane line, with the red “PIT LANE” marking blurred in the background.

Once Sprint Qualifying concludes, the cars enter parc fermé, meaning major changes are prevented before the start of the Saturday race – as is the case between qualifying and the main Grand Prix. Points are on offer to the top eight finishers in the shorter Sprint race, with Audi Revolut F1® Team’s best Sprint result to date being the 12th place finish recorded by Gabi at the last Sprint weekend in Canada.

Close-up of an Audi Revolut F1® Team mechanic handling equipment.

Points or no points, staying out of trouble in the Sprint itself is critical. The team has a limited window to complete any repairs or make changes to the cars before qualifying for the Grand Prix, which follows just three hours after the end of the Sprint race.

Mechanic's gloved hand resting on a Pirelli Formula 1 tyre inside the Audi Revolut F1® Team garage.

Once again, there is no time to waste in those three hours. While the team will have gathered valuable knowledge about the car’s behaviour around the Silverstone circuit by the end of the Sprint, the Grand Prix itself is a different challenge for which the R26 will need a refined setup. Findings from every lap of the on-track action so far can help to inform the team’s approach to the remainder of the race weekend.

Overhead view of a mechanic working on pit lane equipment.

Overcoming unexpected hurdles is also essential, which was demonstrated by the team over the Miami Grand Prix weekend. Nico was sidelined from the Sprint by technical issues on his lap installation lap, requiring a power unit and gearbox change. The team were able to complete the job ahead of Grand Prix qualifying, in which Nico was able to turn around his fortunes and qualify in the top ten.

British Union Jack flag waving against a bright blue sky.

Track facts

This is Silverstone.

Circuit
Silverstone
Location
Northamptonshire, England
Circuit Length
5,891 km
Race distance
306,198 km
Number of laps
52
First Grand Prix
1950
Fastest race lap
1:27.097, Max Verstappen, 2020
2026 weekend format
Sprint weekend

Allan McNish

“The last few race weekends have shown encouraging progress and, while we know there is still a lot of work ahead of us, it is important that we keep moving in the right direction. "

Allan McNish

"Austria, in particular, was one of the best weekends we have had, from an operational point of view, and a blueprint of what we need to do to keep progressing. We have seen positive signs from our car and from the way we have been operating together, and now the goal is to turn that into concrete results."

Allan McNish

"Silverstone is always a special event on the calendar, there is always a special energy to it, and it is a great opportunity to keep building on what we've learned so far. It’s also going to be a significant moment for me – Silverstone is where I took part in my first ever car race in 1987 and to come back in this role is surely something that makes me proud."

1 / 0

Nico Hulkenberg

"There have been quite a few positive signs to take from the recent races, even if the results haven't always reflected the potential of our package."

Nico Hulkenberg

"The important thing is to keep working hard, executing well and making sure we extract the most from our car: if we do that, results will come. Silverstone is a circuit I have always enjoyed, and last year's podium gives me plenty of good memories heading back."

Nico Hulkenberg

"With this being a Sprint event, it's going to be a busy weekend where every lap will count, but hopefully we can carry the positives forward and convert them into a solid result."

1 / 0

Gabriel Bortoleto

"We have been making progress over the last few weekends, and every time we are learning a bit more about how to get the most from our car."

Gabriel Bortoleto

"I finished 11th in the last three races, which shows we’re regularly in contention for the points: hopefully we can go one better soon. What we showed in Austria was encouraging, and the package we brought there helped with that, too; hopefully we can carry that into Silverstone."

Gabriel Bortoleto

"It's a circuit I quite enjoyed both last year and in my junior career, and with the Sprint format it will be important to get on top of things quickly. I am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve this weekend."

1 / 0

Classic English brick buildings along a quiet village street.

Turning Attention to Sunday.

When the chequered flag falls on the Sprint, the race weekend returns to a familiar rhythm. The flat-out Sprint weekend continues on Saturday afternoon, when qualifying for the Grand Prix itself, the weekend’s showpiece, begins.

While the Sprint offers an additional chance at points, the Grand Prix itself remains the main event – where strategy, tyre management and race pace will be the decisive factors in finishing ahead of the chasing pack. The Sprint is valuable in offering insights for the team’s approach to the main race, where preparation, adaptability and quick decision making is rewarded.

With limited opportunities to refine the R26 before competitive sessions begin, every lap matters. Around one of Formula 1®’s fastest and most historic circuits, making the most of those opportunities could make all the difference on Audi Revolut F1® Team’s first visit to the British Grand Prix.

Share the excitement.