Audi F1 US Grand Prix Preview: 7 Points From Haas at COTA

Audi Revolut F1 Team heads to Circuit of The Americas for its first US Grand Prix as Audi, eighth in the constructors’ championship on 23 points and seven behind Haas after Singapore. The race starts Sunday, Oct. 25 at 4:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. CT), the first of the six rounds left this season.

Featured photo: Nico Hülkenberg’s #27 Audi R26 during Sprint Qualifying for the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix (Andy Hone/LAT Images / Audi Revolut F1 Team).

The view east from the Circuit of The Americas tower over the esses and the stadium section, during the 2016 US Grand Prix weekend. (Photo: pedrik / Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

First COTA weekend as Audi

The team knows the place better than the name suggests. The same Hinwil squad has raced at COTA before, under the Sauber name.

Nico Hülkenberg knows it well, too. Audi counts six previous points finishes for him at COTA, five of them in the top eight, with a best of sixth in both 2013 and 2018.

In recent hot races, the weak spot has been the power unit. In his Singapore media session, Hülkenberg said the hot conditions there and in Malaysia were not favorable for the team’s power unit, and that “we suffer from power,” Autosport reported. Those comments were about Malaysia and Singapore, not Austin.

Hülkenberg’s #27 Audi R26 at Marina Bay during the Singapore Grand Prix, where he finished eighth. (Photo: Getty Images / Audi Revolut F1 Team)

Audi vs Haas: the fight for seventh after Singapore

After Singapore, Haas sits seventh on 30 points, Audi eighth on 23 and Williams ninth on 12. The FIA’s points table carries one footnote: it is subject to Audi’s notice of intention to appeal a stewards’ decision from the Italian Grand Prix, so these are the standings after Singapore, not settled numbers.

Seven points is less than a single sixth place pays, so one strong Sunday for Audi and a quiet one for Haas would flip the order. Austin is Round 18 of 23, so five rounds follow, ending in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 4 to 6. Audi calls the run from Austin to Abu Dhabi “six races in seven weekends.”

Audi arrives off what it calls its “highest points-scoring weekend of its maiden season so far.” Hülkenberg took seventh in a chaotic Sprint for the team’s first Sprint points, then finished eighth in the Grand Prix, which equals the team’s best Grand Prix result this season. Our Singapore recap has the full race.

Gabriel Bortoleto’s #5 Audi R26 during qualifying for the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix. (Photo: Steven Tee/LAT Images / Audi Revolut F1 Team)

Gabriel Bortoleto’s night was much shorter. He retired in the opening stages with what Audi called “a suspected gearbox issue.” In the drivers’ standings, Hülkenberg is 14th on 13 points and Bortoleto 15th on 10.

At the front, Kimi Antonelli leads Mercedes teammate George Russell 340 to 238. By our math, Antonelli can clinch the title in Austin with a win if Russell finishes ninth or lower and Lewis Hamilton finishes no higher than fifth.

Audi F1 US Grand Prix 2026 schedule (ET and CT)

Session	Day	Eastern (ET)	Austin (CT)
Practice 1	Fri Oct 23	1:30 to 2:30 p.m.	12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Practice 2	Fri Oct 23	5:00 to 6:00 p.m.	4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Practice 3	Sat Oct 24	1:30 to 2:30 p.m.	12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Qualifying	Sat Oct 24	5:00 to 6:00 p.m.	4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Race	Sun Oct 25	4:00 p.m.	3:00 p.m.

Audi in Austin

The weekend opens Thursday, Oct. 22 with the Black & White Kickoff Party presented by Audi, run by Manual Focus Car & Art Show at Central Machine Works, 4824 East Cesar Chavez Street. It runs 7 to 11 p.m. ET (6 to 10 p.m. CT), and the organizer says admission is free with an RSVP. Its listing promises the all-new 2027 Audi SQ7 and SQ9 and the RS 5 hot-lap car. Our RS 5 first drive has our take on the latest road car.

The show cars arrive after a soft quarter for Audi in the US. Audi of America delivered 39,751 vehicles in the third quarter, down 15% from 46,758 a year earlier, though it reports double-digit growth across newly introduced models including the A5, A6, Q3 and Q5.

If seeing the SQ7 or the RS 5 up close sends you browsing listings for a used Q7 or an older RS 5, take our Audi PPI checklist along to the inspection. It covers what a good shop should look at before any money changes hands.

US Grand Prix FAQ

Is Audi in F1 in 2026? Yes. 2026 is the maiden Formula 1 season for Audi Revolut F1 Team. Our explainer covers why Audi is in Formula 1.

Who drives for Audi F1? Nico Hülkenberg drives car 27 and Gabriel Bortoleto drives car 5. Allan McNish is the team’s Racing Director.

Is there a Sprint in Austin this year? No. The US Grand Prix is a standard weekend, and Singapore hosted the last of this season’s six Sprints.

We’ll be following both cars all weekend on Instagram @audi_obsession, and our race recap goes up once the official results are in.