Exclusive: Hulkenberg offers insight into Audi's 'headwind' start as major steps targeted

Nine races into its debut season, Audi sits ninth in the constructors' championship with just six points—all scored by Gabriel Bortoleto. Nico Hülkenberg has yet to score a point after four retirements, but the German veteran says the team's early struggles were always expected as it develops a power unit entirely from scratch.

Why it matters:

Audi's ambitious decision to build its engine, gearbox and hydraulics in-house has created serious reliability headaches that have masked any genuine progress. With the 2026 regulations demanding a near 50/50 split between combustion and electrical power, mastering that integration without prior turbo-hybrid experience was never going to be instant. Hülkenberg's feedback is proving invaluable in steadying the ship during this formative phase.

The details:

• Hülkenberg's season has been wrecked by cruel luck: a car fire en route to the Miami sprint grid, a gearbox failure at Silverstone, and a gravel-induced shutdown in Barcelona that triggered the emergency kill switch.
• Audi rolled out its first major engine upgrade in Barcelona, introducing new internal combustion engines and turbochargers with hardware tweaks aimed at driveability rather than headline power gains.
• The team has made clear gains since Bahrain winter testing, with Hülkenberg noting the car—especially the power unit—has evolved significantly despite the standings not reflecting it yet.
• Audi's Neuburg facility continues to work flat out, with engineers already developing future solutions based on issues uncovered during the opening races.

What's next:

Audi remains anchored to the rear of the grid, but Hülkenberg insists the project is heading in the right direction. The immediate focus is curing the reliability gremlins that have defined a painful debut. If Neuburg can turn its rapid development into clean race weekends, the second half of the season could finally see Audi convert its progress into tangible results.