(Motorsport-Total.com) – Before the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal (follow all sessions here in the Formula 1 live ticker!), newcomer Audi is under pressure: The lack of reliability of the Audi R26 has so far prevented better results. Meanwhile, the drivers have also expressed cautious criticism of the previous performance.
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In Montreal, Nico Hülkenberg followed up on his recent statements and said: “Of course, you always want more – and preferably immediately. As a driver, you are impatient.” He would have liked to have scored his first Audi points “already yesterday.” Instead, Hülkenberg is still waiting for his first success with the German factory team.
But Audi used the race break between Miami and Montreal and worked primarily on the power unit. “The focus on that was enormous,” said Hülkenberg. “There was a strong effort to get these problems under control as quickly as possible.”
What Audi needs most now: consistency
Because Audi has repeatedly retired early in recent races due to various technical failures – or did not even start. This caused the team to fall even further behind because important experience data is also missing.
Therefore, Gabriel Bortoleto said in Montreal: “At the moment, we can gain the most in reliability – even more than through an update. It’s probably just about finally having a clean weekend. We haven’t managed that so far.”
Despite all the criticism, Hülkenberg appealed for understanding of Audi’s situation: “No team wants to have such problems. But as a factory team, we are still very new in the power unit area. We are still at the very beginning, and it will remain an ongoing process. We just have to work through the problems step by step.”
Why even the drivers are puzzled
There have been quite a few recently. No pattern was recognizable. Bortoleto is also puzzled: “Some problems are similar, others are new. We have to understand how we can best fix them. Maybe it’s about better processes, maybe about producing better parts – I don’t know exactly. But everyone on the team has now completely focused on this topic.”
“Internally, it is completely clear to us that we need to improve here. And I fully trust the team that we will manage it,” said Bortoleto. The only unclear point is when Audi can ensure reliability.
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But a durable car is only half the battle in Formula 1: it also has to be fast – another Audi shortcoming according to Bortoleto: “Realistically, we are currently also suffering from our engine performance. We are behind there. Our chassis is good, but you can feel the performance deficit in the engine.”
Hülkenberg does not believe in “quick solutions”
This makes it difficult for Bortoleto and Hülkenberg on the track to assert themselves in duels with other drivers. “There are no quick solutions for that either,” said Hülkenberg. The performance deficit on the one hand and a “combination of various factors” on the other make the R26 “vulnerable under certain conditions,” according to the German.
Bortoleto also does not recognize “one big point” that Audi is missing. He said: “We simply lack power – that is the reality we currently have to deal with. You can also see that very clearly in the available data. Many small areas add up to a big difference at the end of the lap.” Bortoleto did not go into further detail.
What the technical updates for Montreal could achieve
But could technical updates help here? In Montreal, Audi wants to use different development stages of its components, but mostly “smaller new parts,” said Hülkenberg. “Nothing huge, more fine-tuning and smaller adjustments here and there.”
The Audi drivers do not want to make a prediction. Bortoleto only expects “progress,” which he did not specify further. He only said: “All teams constantly bring updates. And if everyone makes progress, you might still end up roughly in the same place.”
Nevertheless, Audi is going into the weekend in Canada “confidently” and hopes, according to Bortoleto, for a “positive change” in vehicle performance. “I believe we can fight where we have basically been since the start of the season: at the upper end of Q2, fighting for Q3 and for points.”
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