– Nico Hülkenberg is searching for errors after qualifying for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix. The Audi driver did not get beyond 13th place in Monza and struggled above all with an unusually difficult combination of energy management, slipstream, and timing.
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“What not? That is the question,” Hülkenberg replies in an interview with Sky when asked what made life difficult in the “Temple of Speed.” Everything was “very, very finely balanced.”
Especially the slipstream caused problems. Hülkenberg explains that in Q1 he repeatedly had the top cars in front of him, which then pulled away by a fraction. That made an enormous difference.
“I have never experienced it so sensitive”
“That makes such a huge difference, from the slipstream and with top speed,” says Hülkenberg. For him, the extent of the fluctuations is hardly explainable. “It is unbelievable, inexplicable. I have never experienced it so sensitive.”
This also made the timing of the individual runs a difficult task. Especially on the high-speed Monza track, where the slipstream plays a big role, Audi had to catch the right moment.
“Quite difficult to time everything correctly,” explains Hülkenberg. It was only in the last run that it succeeded to bring the different factors together. “It actually only worked for us right at the end in the last run.”
The last lap itself was then clean. Nevertheless, it was not enough for a place in the top 10. Hülkenberg had to settle for 13th place.
Audi closer to the top 10 than expected
Hülkenberg does not want to rate the performance as completely disappointing. Given the starting position before the Monza weekend, the result is even partially positive.
When asked whether Audi performed better than expected in terms of top speed, Hülkenberg answers cautiously “yes.” At the same time, the known problems were still visible.
“On the one hand yes. On the other hand, you still see the problems, the missing top speed,” says the German. Nevertheless, it is “positive and promising” to be so close to the top 10.
His teammate Gabriel Bortoleto confirms this picture. The Brazilian missed Q3 by only 0.001 seconds and finished eleventh. Thus, he was immediately behind Lewis Hamilton, who secured the last Q3 spot.
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Bortoleto misses Q3 by 0.001 seconds
For Bortoleto, it was an especially close defeat. “One millisecond, not even a hundredth,” he says. It is probably the closest result he has experienced so far.
In his last lap, Bortoleto even had a big moment in the Ascari chicane. “I had a huge moment there,” he explains. Nevertheless, he was still able to finish the lap properly.
That Audi was even so close to Q3 in Monza surprises Bortoleto. “We thought we would be out,” he said with regard to the difficulties with top speed. Ultimately, a “crazy slipstream” was decisive, through which the Brazilian was able to extract the necessary performance.
Bortoleto: “I thought I crashed ten times”
In the corners, Bortoleto had to get everything out of the car. “I gave everything I had in the corners,” he says. The car was constantly at the limit. “Honestly, I thought I would crash ten times in this lap.” He constantly lost the rear and pushed the car to the limit.
That he still came so close to Q3, Bortoleto also credits to his team. Even on weekends when Audi actually does not expect competitive performance, sometimes they are suddenly there.
“Well done to the team for showing this performance as well,” he says. “Even on weekends when we think we won’t be competitive, we are somehow there.”
Hülkenberg expects a difficult race
For Hülkenberg, the focus is now on the race. Whether Audi will be particularly vulnerable there due to the missing top speed, he does not want to predict. When asked if he will be an easy victim in the race, Hülkenberg answers briefly: “I hope not.” And specifically regarding top speed: “We will see.”
The first chicane also does not cause him any special worries. That turn one in Monza is traditionally a critical spot is nothing new to him. “I think every year it is the same,” says Hülkenberg.
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The combination of high speed, followed by heavy braking and the narrow track makes the passage fundamentally difficult. “It is quite tight and all cars have to get through there,” explains the Audi driver. For him, the rule is: “Business as usual.”
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