Nico Hülkenberg took 10th and one point for Audi in the São Paulo Grand Prix won by Lando Norris, after serving a 10 second penalty during the race.
The FIA has published the final race classification and championship points.
Starting from the second row offered Audi more than a fight for the last point. But Hülkenberg had already lost ground before his penalty, and Gabriel Bortoleto’s home Grand Prix brought no points from the other car.
Hülkenberg’s race slipped away before the penalty
Hülkenberg qualified sixth with a 1:28.668, then moved to fourth on the grid after penalties for George Russell and Charles Leclerc.
Sunday began on a wet track, which dried before rain returned late in the race. Formula 1’s race report records Max Verstappen passing Hülkenberg, then places the Audi seventh after the opening pit stops, behind Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri. Russell passed him at Turn 1 on lap 30.
Later, Hülkenberg went off the track while attempting to pass Franco Colapinto around the outside of Turn 1. The stewards found that Colapinto had been ahead at the apex and had the right to the corner, while Hülkenberg rejoined ahead of the Alpine and gained a lasting advantage.
The stewards gave him a 10 second time penalty, which Formula 1 reports he served at a later pit stop. By then Verstappen and Russell had already passed him, so the penalty does not explain his whole slide from the second row.
In the final classification, Hülkenberg held off Arvid Lindblad by 2.025 seconds. Both Audis were one lap behind Norris.
Bortoleto’s home weekend began to unravel on Saturday
Bortoleto’s qualifying ended with a crash at Turn 12, leaving him 22nd in the session. In Audi’s Saturday release, he explained what happened:
“I locked up early on at turn 12, went straight into the grass and could not stop the car from hitting the wall.”
On Sunday, the stewards imposed a 10 place grid penalty for using additional power unit components: his sixth energy store (the battery) and his sixth control electronics unit. With larger penalties for Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, the final starting grid still had him 19th, three places ahead of where he qualified.
He was classified 16th, three places up from his grid slot but outside the points. It was his second home Formula 1 Grand Prix; in Audi’s race preview, he said last year was his first experience of driving in front of his home crowd in Formula 1. We looked ahead to the weekend in our São Paulo GP preview.
Audi’s São Paulo results
Race results and points below are final; grid positions come from the final starting grid.
| Driver | Grid | Finish | Gap to winner | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nico Hülkenberg | 4 | 10 | 1 lap | 1 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | 19 | 16 | 1 lap | 0 |
Audi edges closer to Haas
The FIA championship points show Audi eighth with 28 points, three behind Haas on 31. Neither Haas driver scored, so Hülkenberg’s point reduced the gap in the fight for seventh.
That is useful progress, but one point is a modest return from fourth on the grid. The next chance to close the gap is the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Follow @audi_obsession on Instagram for our take on Audi’s fight with Haas.
Sources
- FIA São Paulo final race classification
- FIA championship points
- FIA Hülkenberg penalty decision
- FIA São Paulo starting grid
- FIA São Paulo qualifying classification
- FIA Bortoleto power unit penalty
- Formula 1 São Paulo race report
- Formula 1 constructors’ standings
- Audi Saturday qualifying release
- Audi Brazilian Grand Prix preview