Audi accused of ‘distasteful’ act in handling of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto’s Miami woes

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Christian Danner feels Audi’s lack of transparency about the reliability problems that Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto have both faced so far in 2026 is “distasteful”.

The German brand enjoyed a great start to their debut season in Australia, when Bortoleto brought his R26 home in P9. Yet Audi have faced issue after issue since the Brazilian scored two points in Melbourne, where Hulkenberg did not even start the first Grand Prix of 2026.

Bortoleto failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix during round two, and Hulkenberg even has an F1 Sprint retirement and a failure to start to his name already this year. The German had to retire from the Sprint in Shanghai after 12 laps, and he failed to start the Sprint in Miami.

Audi’s woes went further in the F1 Sprint at the Miami Grand Prix, as well, as Bortoleto was disqualified after he finished in P11. It marked the start of the 21-year-old’s sorry Saturday, too, as Audi had to replace his gearbox ahead of qualifying and his brakes caught fire in Q1.

Audi’s lack of transparency about Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto’s reliability problems is ‘distasteful’

The FIA confirmed that Bortoleto was disqualified from the Miami Sprint because of a spike in his engine intake air pressure. A leak leading to a fire had also caused Hulkenberg to stop on his installation lap and not start the Miami Sprint, despite Audi thinking it had been fixed.

READ MORE: All you need to know about the Audi F1 team from Sauber past to drivers

Overheating issues also caused Hulkenberg’s retirement from the Miami GP, yet Audi looked to only cite “technical problems” for their issues in Florida. Audi’s lack of clarity does not sit well with Danner, who thinks Mercedes and McLaren have shown that teams can be honest.

Danner told Motorsport-Magazin: “Personally, this really rubs me the wrong way. Nobody’s saying what’s going on – the whole thing is being disguised as a technical issue.

“I find that distasteful! There’s a considerable degree of transparency [at Mercedes and at McLaren] – I’m missing that at Audi.

“It’s either the hydraulics or the gearbox. I always had particularly bad starts when first gear was too long. I imagine it’s a simple problem with the gearbox.

Which driver’s podium streak will end in 2026? And whose will last the longest? 🏆

Lando Norris reached seven seasons in a row with his P2 in Miami!

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“The seamless-shift gearbox, meaning one with smooth gear changes that doesn’t put any load on the rear axle, may not yet be perfected.

“Ferrari and Mercedes have been building gearboxes like this for 12 years. It’s a very specific technology that needs to be mastered. That doesn’t mean they can’t do it.”

Audi elected to debut in Formula 1 in the 2026 season as a fully-fledged factory team, using their own engine and gearbox. While McLaren are a power unit customer of Mercedes, the Woking crew also build their own gearbox – a challenge that Audi are struggling to manage.

Issues are also starting to appear off the circuit for Audi following their frustrating weekend in Florida. Audi F1 project lead Mattia Binotto and Hulkenberg were seen having stern talks in Miami, during what also appeared to be a lengthy debrief in the paddock after the event.