The Miami Grand Prix was a weekend Audi Formula 1 would rather forget—and according to F1 TV analysts Jolyon Palmer and James Hinchcliffe, the team’s struggles exposed a deeper problem that could haunt them all season.
From the start, nothing went right for the German marque. Nico Hulkenberg was forced to sit out the sprint race after a power unit failure, then retired early from the main Grand Prix. Meanwhile, his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto was disqualified from the sprint for a technical infringement related to the power unit. Though he fought back from the back of the grid to finish 12th on Sunday, he narrowly missed the points.
“You’ve got the issue with Hulkenberg earlier in the weekend, then Bortoleto had a brake issue, had the disqualification for a violation on the power unit side, and then the failure for Hulkenberg after he already had some front wing damage,” Hinchcliffe explained on the F1 TV post-race show. “Really nothing went right for them this weekend. This is going to be one they just want to put behind them, forget, and try to focus forward to Canada.”
But Palmer believes the Miami disaster reveals a structural disadvantage. Audi is the only team running its own power units, meaning it lacks the data-sharing benefits that rivals enjoy. While Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull all have customer teams feeding back valuable track data, Audi and Aston Martin are flying solo.
“They’re the only team running Audi power units. So, they’ve got no learning from anyone else,” Palmer said. “Even from the shakedown, if they’re not on track, they’re not learning from anyone else. Mercedes have got teams. Ferrari have got multiple teams. Red Bull have got two teams. Audi and Aston Martin are struggling a little bit in those stakes. So, they’re just behind on the curve. They’re doing an OK job overall, but they are going to have these teething issues that will take longer to iron out because of it.”
The numbers back up the concern. Audi currently sits ninth in the constructors’ standings with just two points. Bortoleto is 15th in the drivers’ standings with two points, while the more experienced Hulkenberg is 18th with zero. For a team with Audi’s pedigree and ambition, that’s a wake-up call—and a reminder that in Formula 1, going it alone comes with a steep price.