Side view of the Audi Revolut F1® Team car at the Canada Grand Prix 2026

22 May 2026

2026 Canadian Grand Prix: Friday

Nico and Gabi secure sixth row after competitive Friday.

Strong pace in Sprint Qualifying.

Audi Revolut F1® Team took to the track for the opening day of track action at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto claiming sixth row for tomorrow’s Sprint. Friday running in Montreal, with the sole practice session of the weekend and Sprint Qualifying, provided valuable learning opportunities for the team, with both drivers working through evolving conditions among a highly competitive midfield. Across the sessions, the team focused on refining the car setup on the low-grip Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where small margins proved decisive throughout the order.

Despite some disruptions caused by numerous red flags in practice, both drivers were able to make progress as the day unfolded, with encouraging signs in terms of overall balance and competitiveness. In a razor-edge Sprint Qualifying session, both Nico and Gabi went close to claiming a spot in SQ3, but had to settle for 11th and 12th by the smallest of margins – less than a tenth in Nico’s case. With the field separated by only fractions of a second, the team now turns its attention to overnight analysis and final refinements ahead of the Sprint Race.

R05 | Montréal | Sprint Qualifying

NICO HULKENBERG

P11

1:14.595 (Q2)

+1.569

Cockpit close up of Nico Hulkenberg, driver of the Audi Revolut F1® Team at the Canada Grand Prix 2026

R05 | Montréal | Sprint Qualifying

GABRIEL BORTOLETO

P12

1:14.627 (Q2)

+1.601

Cockpit close up of Gabriel Bortoleto, driver of the Audi Revolut F1® Team at the Canada Grand Prix 2026

1 / 0

Gallery

Sprint Qualifying in the books

Audi Revolut F1® Team Overtake action at the Canadian Grand Prix Day one FP1

Spectator view of the Audi Revolut F1® Team during the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix

Side view of the Audi Revolut F1® Team car R26 passing by at the Canadian Grand Prix on Day one FP1

The Audi Revolut F1® Team car R26 at the pitstop surrounded by crew and mechanics at the Canadian Grand Prix on Day one FP1

Audi Revolut F1® Team car surrounded by crewmembers and mechanics at the pitstop during the Canada Grand Prix 2026

Rear view of the Audi Revolut F1® Team car at the Canada Grand Prix 2026

Front view of the Audi Revolut F1® Team car at the Canada Grand Prix 2026 spotted trough bushes

Audi Revolut F1® Team car R26 surrounded by crew members and mechanics during a pit stop action at the canadian Grand Prix 2026

Close up of a Audi Revolut F1® Team crew machanic holding a tire at the pit stop of the Canada Grand Prix 2026

Side view of the Audi Revolut F1® Team car R26 at the Canada Grand Prix 2026 passing by at high speed

Rear view of the Audi Revolut F1® Team car R26 at the Canada Grand Prix 2026 driving into the pit stop

Front view of the Audi Revolut F1® Team car R26 at the Canada Grand Prix 2026 at high speed

Side view of the Audi Revolut F1® Team car R26 at the Canada Grand Prix 2026

“As we expected from Free Practice and previous sessions."

"Sprint Qualifying was always going to be an extremely tight affair. With Nico and Gabi within four hundreds of each other."

Allan McNish

"It is obviously frustrating to miss on the final segment of Sprint Qualifying for such small margins but, on the positive side, it was good to see that both drivers could get the car right into the right window."

Allan McNish

"This puts us in a reasonable position for tomorrow’s Sprint and also gives us confidence heading into the main race itself. There’s still a bit of work to do overnight, and hopefully we can find those four hundredths to make a crucial step forward.”

“FP1 was quite disrupted on my side, so it wasn’t the smoothest build-up heading into Sprint Qualifying."

"Nevertheless, the car felt better as the day progressed and overall, the feeling was decent. Missing out by half a tenth is never ideal, especially in such a tight midfield fight, but the encouraging part is that we look competitive again."

Nico Hulkenberg

"With the Sprint tomorrow morning, there’s still plenty to play for. We’ll take the learnings from today, keep pushing and aim to put ourselves on the right side of things tomorrow.”

“I think we could have extracted a little bit more from our package today."

"My last lap was decent, but not enough to make it through to SQ3. The track was tricky out there – very dirty so early in the race weekend – and that also put a strain on tyre temperatures."

Gabriel Bortoleto

"Still, I think we can be quite satisfied with what we’ve put together. Looking at where we stand, I think we have a realistic chance of being in the mix in the top ten tomorrow."

Canada GP