Test drives went well, which is why Audi’s 2026 Formula 1 season opener is eagerly awaited—Nico Hülkenberg is also hoping to score points in the first year.
Any initial question marks regarding Audi’s performance in its first season in Formula 1 should have been dispelled by Sunday after the Australian Grand Prix at the latest. But after solid test drives, it’s not just expert Marc Surer who is “impressed”; Nico Hülkenberg is also hoping for measurable success in his first year.
“Of course, we want to be competitive and score points,” replied the 38-year-old at the Formula 1 media day when asked about Audi’s goals for 2026. “We don’t yet know what that means in concrete terms, as we haven’t completed a full race weekend yet.” Regardless of the results, however, the “steep learning curve and development steps throughout the year” are the top priority for the newcomer.
Hülkenberg said that “Melbourne is a great track” for continuing to assess the team’s position and collect valuable data, as it is completely different from Bahrain. “That could reshuffle the cards once again.”
Experience is “a good thing” but no “guarantee of success”
To ensure that Audi’s start in Formula 1 is as successful as possible, the factory team, which has extensive motorsport experience, began integrating the necessary structures into the former Sauber team at an early stage. Hülkenberg is also an important component, bringing with him a wealth of experience in team building from numerous teams and finally securing a podium finish with third place at Silverstone in 2025.
“Routine is a good thing,” says the German, but it is still “no guarantee of success.” As a driver, you “always play a central role,” especially in terms of how you work with the car and what feedback you give to the engineers in order to initiate a certain direction of development.
But experience isn’t everything, Hülkenberg continues. “Especially now in the early stages, when everything is still so new, it’s important to learn and adapt extremely quickly. The learning curve will be huge for all drivers and racing teams. So you definitely can’t rest on your experience and believe that the problems will solve themselves.”
Audi wants to “really let the cars off the leash”
But even without the concrete results of the first race in Melbourne in the bag, there is “still plenty of room for improvement in many areas,” according to the Audi driver. “We are still a young racing team – this is especially true for the power unit, of course.”
Audi is the only team using its own newly designed drive system, which naturally reduces data yields. That’s why they want to “really let the new car off the leash for the first time, in qualifying and especially in Sunday’s race.” According to Hülkenberg, this should be “extremely exciting.”
However, our editorial team does not believe that the new team will be able to compete with Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull. But a battle for sixth place is definitely possible. Melbourne will probably put an end to speculation and hopefully give us a first indication of what to expect.
