Bortoleto qualifies tenth before race collision and penalty

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Archive photograph: Gabriel Bortoleto · Belgian Grand Prix, Spa 2026 · official Audi team archive · 2026-07-19Archive photo · 2026-07-19 · Audi Revolut F1 Team · Editorial use · Audi

Gabriel Bortoleto qualified tenth at Sepang. Formula 1 reported his comments praising Audi's package and team effort, and later reported that he was involved in a race collision and penalised.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · 04 Oct 2026, 06:13 · 1 min

Gabriel Bortoleto qualified tenth for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang, setting a Q3 time of 1:37.673. The FIA's final qualifying classification confirms the result.

Formula 1 reported that Bortoleto reached Q3 for the first time since Zandvoort. He described the qualifying as a strong response after Baku and praised Audi's package and team effort. Racing director Allan McNish also praised the package and Bortoleto's laps.

Formula 1 later reported that Bortoleto was involved in a mid-race collision and penalised.

Sources 03

PRIMARY SOURCEWhat the teams said – Qualifying in MalaysiaFormula 1
PRIMARY SOURCEDoc 42 - Final Qualifying ClassificationFIA F1 decision documents
PRIMARY SOURCEVerstappen wins Bahrain GP in Malaysia as Russell retiresFormula 1

Source context

Formula 1 reports that Bortoleto was involved in a mid-race collision and penalised, but its report does not state his finishing position. His tenth place refers to qualifying, not his starting-grid position or race result. Bortoleto and Audi's racing director praised the new package; those assessments do not establish that the upgrades caused the qualifying result.