The race weekend at the Sepang Circuit left Audi deeply frustrated after familiar struggles once again kept them outside the points-paying positions. Repeating a frustrating scenario previously witnessed in Baku, Nico Hulkenberg had to settle for an eleventh-place finish. The experienced German driver ultimately lost crucial ground in the closing laps, unable to fend off a fierce charge from Lando Norris and Arvid Lindblad.
The race dynamics unfolded dramatically from the very beginning when heavy rain soaked the circuit, forcing officials to delay the start for safety reasons. Once the lights went out, chaos ensued immediately. Nico Hulkenberg initially gambled on slick tires before quickly pitting to switch to intermediates. That tactical decision paid dividends as he steadily climbed up the order into ninth place during the latter half of the race.
However, hopes of securing vital championship points evaporated instantly when a safety car intervention was deployed following a retirement from Alexander Albon. The neutralisation erased the gap Nico Hulkenberg had carefully built, leaving him completely vulnerable to chasing rivals once racing resumed.
“It was a busy race,” Nico Hulkenberg commented reflecting on the chaotic Malaysian GP. “Overall we were fighting for the points, but in the end we finished eleventh again. I was much more satisfied with my performance compared to Saturday. At the beginning we made the right call switching early to intermediate tires, and even though we initially lost ground, we recovered it all within a lap.”
He further acknowledged that running inside the top ten was heavily aided by misfortune striking competitors ahead. “Realistically we found ourselves in that position only because of problems for the cars ahead, so it was always going to be tough. Still, it was a clean race on my part, we learned a lot as a team and now our full focus shifts to Singapore,” he added, as reported by FormulaPassion.
Meanwhile, teammate Gabriel Bortoleto endured an even tougher Sunday after his race unraveled due to a collision. Employing a similar strategy early on, the Brazilian rookie's afternoon was heavily compromised following contact with Carlos Sainz right after the first safety car restart. The incident inflicted heavy damage to his front wing and floor, coupled with a 10-second time penalty that ultimately relegated him to eighteenth place.
“First of all, I want to apologize to Carlos Sainz. I made contact with him at the restart and unfortunately, it compromised his race as well as mine,” Gabriel Bortoleto stated regretfully. “I sustained damage to both the front wing and the floor, and at that point, we were too far back to fight for anything meaningful. The rest of the race was far from smooth; overall, it was a difficult Sunday. Now we look at the positives and think about Singapore, hoping to secure a good result there.”
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