Nico Hulkenberg's 2026 season, measured: nothing for ten rounds, then points in three of the last four
Nico Hulkenberg did not score in the first ten rounds of Audi's first season, after a non-start in Melbourne, three retirements and a Monaco penalty. Then came ninth in Hungary, eighth at Zandvoort and tenth in Madrid. Every race, measured.
Nico Hulkenberg's 2026 began with a car that would not start. In Melbourne, on Audi's debut as a works team, a technical problem on the way to the grid kept him out of the race before it began.
It took him ten rounds to score. Along the way came three retirements and a ten-second penalty at Monaco that cost him a points finish. Then, from the Hungarian Grand Prix onward, the results arrived: ninth in Hungary, eighth at Zandvoort and tenth in Madrid, three points finishes in four races. He has 7 points, fifteenth in the championship, and a contract that runs to the end of 2027.
Every message he exchanged with his engineer on air this season, from the Canadian Grand Prix onward, is on Nico Hulkenberg's team radio page, with the audio and a transcript coloured by who is speaking.
Every race of his 2026 season
The first seven rounds:
Round
Grand Prix
Started
Finished
Points
1
Australian
11th
Did not start
0
2
Chinese
11th
11th
0
3
Japanese
13th
11th
0
4
Miami
10th
Retired
0
5
Canadian
11th
12th
0
6
Monaco
13th
13th
0
7
Barcelona
9th
Retired
0
Grand Prix results only. In Melbourne the grid slot shown is where he would have started.
The next seven:
Round
Grand Prix
Started
Finished
Points
8
Austrian
14th
12th
0
9
British
12th
Retired
0
10
Belgian
12th
13th
0
11
Hungarian
10th
9th
2
12
Dutch
13th
8th
4
13
Italian
12th
12th
0
14
Spanish (Madrid)
11th
10th
1
Starting positions are the grid after penalties.
The season in numbers
7 points, fifteenth in the championship, all from the last four races.
0 points in the first ten rounds.
4 non-finishes: the non-start in Melbourne, and retirements in Miami, Barcelona and at Silverstone.
Eleventh twice, in China and at Suzuka, one place from a point each time.
Best result: 8th, at Zandvoort, from thirteenth on the grid.
Best grid position: 9th, in Barcelona.
No sprint points, and a non-start in the Miami sprint.
Monaco
At Monaco, the race was stopped with a red flag and restarted from a standing start. After the restart, Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz collided at turn 8, Portier. The stewards ruled that he had turned into Sainz's car and gave him a ten-second time penalty. Sainz retired. Hulkenberg argued he was avoiding cars bunching up ahead of him, and blamed George Russell for backing up the pack.
On the road he finished ahead of Esteban Ocon, inside the points. The penalty dropped him to thirteenth, and the radio at Haas told the story from the other side:
Esteban OconHaas · Monaco Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 17:38:35 local
EngineerNice job. We definitely deserve this one. Yeah,
Drivergood job, guys. Good job. Hats off to the strategists today. That was quite
Engineerimpressive. Thank you. Shout out to Hazard and Edge.
DriverYes.
EngineerOkay, Aseran. We're P9, actually, because Niko got a 10-second penalty.
DriverCopy that. Awesome. Awesome. Was Hatch our third?
EngineerYes, yes, he is, actually.
DriverYeah, super happy for him.
EngineerThat's nice. I'm very happy for us, too. So, P1, wait a few seconds, and go to P0. Thank
"We're P9, actually, because Niko got a 10-second penalty." Every stewards' decision of that race was published as an FIA document, one of dozens the FIA publishes every race weekend.
The turn
From Hungary onward, Hulkenberg's grid positions barely changed, tenth, thirteenth, twelfth and eleventh, but his races did. At Zandvoort he gained five places, from thirteenth to eighth, Audi's joint best result of the season. In Madrid he started eleventh and finished tenth.
Against Bortoleto
In the nine races both Audis finished, Hulkenberg was ahead five times and Gabriel Bortoleto four. Bortoleto has more points, 10 to 7, because his two eighth places at Silverstone and Spa were worth more than Hulkenberg's eighth, ninth and tenth. Bortoleto's season is measured in Gabriel Bortoleto's 2026, and the team's in Audi's 2026.
How he got here
Hulkenberg is 39, and one of the most experienced drivers on the grid. He waited until his 239th Grand Prix for a podium, third at Silverstone in 2025 for Sauber, the team that became Audi. In August 2026 he said he would drive for Audi again in 2027, and that "the contractual situation is pretty clear."
What is left
Nine rounds remain, starting with Baku on 26 September. Audi are four points behind Haas for seventh in the constructors' championship. The full table is in the 2026 standings, and every retirement of the season in every 2026 F1 retirement.
What this measures, and what it does not
Results, grid positions and points come from Formula 1's official timing data and match the published standings after the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Monaco penalty and the Melbourne non-start are as reported by Formula 1 and PlanetF1. The timing data records that a car retired, not why.
Quotes are taken only from lines where the speaker label and the words agree.
Frequently asked questions
What team does Nico Hulkenberg drive for in 2026?
Audi, alongside Gabriel Bortoleto. The team was Sauber until the end of 2025.
How many points does Nico Hulkenberg have in 2026?
7 after the Spanish Grand Prix, fifteenth in the drivers' championship, all from the Hungarian, Dutch and Spanish Grands Prix.
Why did Nico Hulkenberg get a penalty at Monaco?
The stewards gave him ten seconds for turning into Carlos Sainz at turn 8 after the red flag restart, causing a collision.
Will Nico Hulkenberg drive for Audi in 2027?
Yes. He said in August 2026 that he will drive for Audi next year.
Sources
Results, grid positions and points: Formula 1 timing data via FastF1, matching the published standings after the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix
Every radio message quoted: our own team radio archive
Hear it live
A penalty that decides a points finish usually arrives as a stewards' document before anyone explains it on the broadcast.
The Formula Dream app collects every FIA document of the weekend as it is published, and plays live driver radio as it is broadcast, transcript beside the audio. There is also a live timing Dashboard, currently in beta.
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Nineteen Chinese Grands Prix have been held in Shanghai since 2004. Lewis Hamilton won six, pole won twelve, and in 2026 Kimi Antonelli took the first win of his career there, at 19, with Hamilton on the podium for Ferrari for the first time. Every winner, grid slot and safety car, measured.
