Close-up detail of the rear section of the Audi Revolut F1® Team Formula 1 car inside the garage.

13 March 2026

2026 Chinese Grand Prix - Friday

Audi Revolut F1® Team opened the Chinese Grand Prix weekend in Shanghai.

Sprint Qualifying in Shanghai.

Audi Revolut F1^® Team was on the cusp of a place in Sprint Qualifying 3 as competitive action for the Chinese Grand Prix kicked off in earnest in Shanghai. In the session to set the grid for tomorrow morning’s Sprint, Nico Hulkenberg was 0.015s away from a spot in the top ten, closing with the 11^th fastest time. Team-mate, Gabriel Bortoleto, was 14^th, with both cars progressing solidly from the first segment of the session and steadily in the midfield mix.

With tomorrow’s 100km event rewarding the top eight finishers with points, there will be plenty to fight for in Shanghai; furthermore, every bit of knowledge about the car’s behaviour around this track will be carried over to the afternoon’s Qualifying session and Sunday’s showpiece event, the race.

R02 | Shanghai | Sprint Qualifying

NICO HULKENBERG

P11

Nico is taking his helmet on and gets ready for FP1

R02 | Shanghai | Sprint Qualifying

GABRIEL BORTOLETO

P14

1 / 0

Gallery

Sprint Qualifying in the Books

Audi Revolut F1® Team Formula 1 car driving out of the garage toward the pit lane during race preparations.

Rear view of an Audi Revolut F1® Team Formula 1 car with glowing rain light inside the pit garage.

Audi Revolut F1® Team pit crew members working around the race car during garage preparations.

Audi Revolut F1® Team mechanic preparing the cockpit area of a Formula 1 race car inside the team garage.

Black and white close-up of an Audi Revolut F1® Team driver Nico Hulkenberg wearing a helmet before entering the car.

Audi Revolut F1® Team driver Gabriel Bortoleto seated in the race car cockpit while mechanics prepare the car in the garage.

Audi Revolut F1® Team driver Gabriel Bortoleto standing in the pit garage wearing full racing suit and helmet.

Black and white photo of an Audi Revolut F1® Team driver Gabriel Bortoleto adjusting his helmet and balaclava in the garage.

Audi Revolut F1® Team member Gabriel Bortoleto walking along a pit lane bridge walkway at a racing circuit.

Smiling Audi Revolut F1® Team member Nico Hulkenberg riding an e-scooter outside the paddock area at a race track.

Audi Revolut F1® Team member Nico Hulkenberg riding an electric scooter along a paddock walkway near a modern racing facility.

“Our priority now is to have a clean sprint race and then see what progress we can make ahead of qualifying.”

“A sprint weekend always brings its challenges for the teams, as there is very little time to learn about the car before going straight into sprint qualifying and then the sprint race itself - the momentum builds very quickly."

Senior Audi Revolut F1® Team staff member walking through the paddock during the F1 Chinese Grand Prix event.

Jonathan Wheatley

"With these new and very complex cars, arriving at a new circuit means you are constantly learning more about the package — understanding where the performance is and where improvements are needed, lap after lap.

Considering those challenges, I think the team did a good job between FP1 and sprint qualifying to address the main areas where we could extract performance from the car, and the result was a fair reflection of our pace today."

Jonathan Wheatley

"There are still some issues the drivers have been highlighting since the winter, which remain a focus for us as we continue to develop the car. On Nico’s side we briefly lost communication during SQ2, but the team was able to resolve that issue once the car returned to the garage.”

"Close one today. Losing comms in SQ2 didn't make it easy, but P11 is still a solid result."

"The car feels good and we’re firmly in the fight. It’s tight out there - small margins, good opportunities. We’ll push again tomorrow."

Audi Revolut F1® Team driver Nico Hulkenberg standing along his Formula 1 car

"Tricky Friday for me."

"Different track, different demands, and a few things to tidy up - still learning how to extract the most from the car. Short and sharp Sprint tomorrow, then we reset and come back stronger for Quali."