Nico Hülkenberg ran as high as ninth in the closing stages of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia and finished 11th at Sepang, 1.476 seconds behind Arvid Lindblad in the last points place and 17.404 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen. Gabriel Bortoleto started 10th for Audi Revolut F1 Team and finished 18th.
Verstappen’s win was the first of 2026 for him and for Red Bull. The race was scheduled for 3:00 a.m. ET, but rain delayed the start, and the first start procedure was suspended after cars could not accelerate. The second attempt, from the original grid, was set for 4:33 a.m. ET.
Both Audis began that attempt on soft dry tires and changed to intermediates before the standing start. On lap 1, Charles Leclerc collided with Hülkenberg and pitted for a new front wing.
Ninth in the closing stages, 11th at the flag
Hülkenberg started 15th and stopped for dry tires on lap 8, under the Safety Car that followed Valtteri Bottas’s spin. He dropped out of the top 10 in the middle of the race and worked his way back. On softs after a pit stop, he passed Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon together at Turn 4.
Alexander Albon’s stoppage brought out a Virtual Safety Car and then a full Safety Car, and Lando Norris went through the gravel while the field was queued behind it. At the restart, Fernando Alonso was eighth and Hülkenberg was ninth.
Audi’s race report says Norris and Lindblad passed Hülkenberg in the final laps, and Allan McNish names Lindblad as the driver who got by on the last lap. Hülkenberg was classified 11th, behind both of them, with Stroll 12th a further 0.648 seconds back.
Hülkenberg said he was happier with his performance than on Saturday and that the early call for intermediates was right, but that he did not have the pace to hold the point. In his view, the chance at ninth came because cars ahead of him ran into trouble.
The stewards also looked at Hülkenberg’s pit stop. They found that no unsafe release occurred and fined Audi Revolut F1 Team €30,000, with €20,000 of that suspended. The decision is a team fine, not a driver penalty.
Bortoleto caused the Turn 2 collision
At the restart from the first Safety Car, Bortoleto tried to pass Carlos Sainz on the inside of Turn 2. Sainz spun, Bortoleto pitted after the contact, and the stewards found that he caused the collision and gave him a 10-second time penalty.
“First of all, I want to apologise to Carlos. I made contact with him at the restart and, unfortunately, compromised his race, as well as my own. I got damage to both my front wing and floor, and then we were too far behind to fight for anything.”
Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi Revolut F1 Team, after the race.
Bortoleto was classified 18th, 28.233 seconds behind Verstappen and 2.802 seconds behind Sainz in 17th.
Official classification
Selected rows from the final classification after 55 laps. Gaps are to the winner.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / gap | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 55 | 1:47:14.808 | 25 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 55 | +2.307s | 18 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 55 | +4.919s | 15 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 55 | +7.258s | 12 |
| 5 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing | 55 | +8.571s | 10 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 55 | +9.454s | 8 |
| 7 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 55 | +12.753s | 6 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 55 | +13.372s | 4 |
| 9 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 55 | +13.993s | 2 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 55 | +15.928s | 1 |
| 11 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 55 | +17.404s | 0 |
| 18 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 55 | +28.233s | 0 |
George Russell was classified 20th after 49 laps. Alexander Albon and Valtteri Bottas were not classified, after 41 laps and 7 laps. The full order is on the Formula 1 result page.
Singapore is next
Both Audis finished, and neither scored. Why this Bahrain Grand Prix was held at Sepang is in our preview.
Next is the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, October 9 to 11, the final leg of this Asian triple-header. The race is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, October 11.
Weekend updates are on Instagram at @audi_obsession.
Sources: Formula 1 race result. FIA final race classification. FIA decision, Bortoleto collision. FIA decision, Audi pit-stop fine. Formula 1 race report. Formula 1, what the teams said. Formula 1 starting grid. Audi Revolut F1 Team race report. Formula 1 Singapore timetable.