Hulkenberg holds off Russell to claim best weekend of 2026 in Singapore

After a couple of frustrating recent races, Nico Hulkenberg produced one of his finest drives of the 2026 season at the Singapore Grand Prix, battling from the first lap to the last to seal eighth place and celebrate his highest-scoring round of the year so far.

The Audi driver, who took seventh in Saturday's Sprint, qualified 11th but gained a grid slot thanks to George Russell's power unit penalties. From there, he made the most of a clean launch to jump ahead of both Pierre Gasly and Arvid Lindblad on the opening lap, before settling into a long stint chasing Liam Lawson.

"I think not just at the start, but I had a good lap one, a good feeling today, an instinct as to where to go," Hulkenberg said. "I think inside of Turn 2 and on the exit, I got another position. So yeah, that was nice and set us up for a good race. Obviously, all very close there with the Racing Bulls and the Alpine behind in terms of pace."

In the closing stages, Russell loomed large in Hulkenberg's mirrors. The Mercedes driver had carved his way through the field from a lowly 19th on the grid but could not find a way past the German, who defended resolutely.

"And then George at the end was a bit sketchy," Hulkenberg admitted. "I didn't think at the beginning it would be possible, but then found a better rhythm and closed the gap to Liam and picked up a bit of an indirect tow, which really helps us on the straight to pick up a bit of straight line speed."

Audi racing director Allan McNish was full of praise for the veteran's display, which made amends for the disappointment of being bumped out of the points at the death in both Baku and Sepang.

"It was a really good weekend for him. Today he just showed his width of experience, and also I would say his racing brain, because at the end, 10 laps with George, who was clearly quicker, and to be able to be quick at the right points in the circuit, defend well, but not over defend," McNish said.

"And so I think he really played a really good game. And then ultimately was able to actually pull away from George, and start to catch up a wee bit on Lawson. After the last two races, where we lost a point on the last lap twice, it was actually I think something that everybody in the garage appreciated, the defence that Nico had on it. He wasn't going to lose that one."

The result caps a much-needed strong weekend for Audi, whose drivers had endured a patchy start to the 2026 campaign before Hulkenberg's Singapore surge.