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2026 Miami Grand Prix - Friday
Audi Revolut F1 Team made a positive step forward as the Miami Grand Prix sprint weekend got underway, overcoming a difficult Free Practice session to improve performance ahead of Sprint Qualifying. In a tightly contested midfield, both drivers narrowly missed out on SQ3, underlining the fine margins on a demanding sprint Friday. Encouragingly, the team reacted well between sessions to address key areas and build a better understanding of the car in the high-temperature conditions at the Miami International Autodrome. With a clean Sprint race the priority, there remains everything to play for across the weekend, and the team will be pushing to make up places while continuing to build momentum into Qualifying and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Allan McNish, Racing Director: “It was a good recovery after a not ideal FP session, and overall, a very tight qualifying. Both drivers missed out on SQ3 by just a couple of hundredths of a second, which shows how fine the margins are. We came into the session knowing that if everything came together, we could be in that fight, and ultimately, we were right on the edge of it. While it’s frustrating to miss out by such small differences, it also highlights how competitive the field is and where we need to focus to make the next step. On the positive side, the feedback from both drivers on the balance of the car was encouraging and we’re in a reasonable position heading into tomorrow. There’s still a lot up for grabs”
Nico Hulkenberg (Car 27):
FP1: 15th / 1:31.595 (33 laps)
SQ1: 1:30.270 (6 laps)
SQ2: 12th / 1:30.019 (6 laps)
“Coming into the weekend, expectations were fairly open, but overall, it was a decent session for us. It wasn’t perfect, but I think we extracted what was there today. There’s still a lot of racing to be done. Our race pace has looked quite solid recently, so the focus now is on putting everything together when it counts. Conditions here will be a factor, especially with the heat, so it should be an interesting one.”
Gabriel Bortoleto (Car 5):
FP1: 14th / 1:31.111 (28 laps)
SQ1: 1:30.561 (6 laps)
SQ2: 11th / 1:29.994 (6 laps)
"Obviously, I’m a bit disappointed not to make it through to SQ3, it was close and I felt like we had the potential today. The lap itself wasn’t too bad, but there were a few small things here and there that could have gone better. At the same time, I'm happy because we had a couple of challenges in FP and we lost half an hour, so happy to go to Sprint Qualifying and still be able to progress. It felt like the car did a good step."
