Audi driver Nico Hulkenberg is under investigation by the FIA stewards for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage during the British Grand Prix sprint race.<\/p>\n
Hulkenberg started and finished the sprint race in 13th place as Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli took victory.<\/p>\n
Nico Hulkenberg under investigation by FIA over British Grand Prix sprint incident<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n The FIA has issued a penalty to Nico Hulkenberg<\/a> since this article was originally published<\/p>\n The Audi driver has found himself under investigation over an incident at Turn 9 \u2013 more commonly known as Copse \u2013 for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage.<\/p>\n Hulkenberg and an Audi team representative were required to visit the stewards at 1300 local time at Silverstone.<\/p>\n Qualifying for the main race is due to begin at 1600.<\/p>\n Preview: British Grand Prix 2026<\/p>\n F1 British Grand Prix 2026 event centre \u2013 Live updates, reports, results, schedule, weather, preview<\/a><\/p>\n British GP predictions: False Lewis Hamilton hope, Russell on toast, McLaren resurgence<\/a><\/p>\n Hulkenberg and teammate Gabriel Bortoleto had troubled starts to the sprint race, with the Brazilian cutting a frustrated figure after the race after falling from 12th on the grid to 14th at the chequered flag.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cFor me, it\u2019s just again another race like this.<\/p>\n \u201cI think in Austria we were able to do a decent start and this weekend it looks like we have not been able to do a single start yet.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I dropped to P16 or P17 on Lap 1, and to recover all of that it\u2019s a mess.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we need to fix this. It has already been a trend the whole year. Hopefully we find a solution.<\/p>\n \u201cI know it\u2019s not easy, but every time starting there and then going to the back, it\u2019s not that we have that much pace advantage to be able to overtake everyone all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we need to start putting these things together. We keep working.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about his own start to the sprint race, Hulkenberg said: \u201cNot good.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we both had the same problems \u2013 at least it looked like that from the car.<\/p>\n \u201cSo definitely some learnings there for tomorrow hopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite scoring just two points so far, Audi has enjoyed a respectable start to its debut season in F1 2026.<\/p>\n Bortoleto scored the team\u2019s only points by finishing ninth at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March.<\/p>\n Hulkenberg is among four drivers yet to score in 2026 along with Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll and Cadillac teammates Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.<\/p>\n The German driver recorded a best finish of 11th at the Chinese and Japanese grands prix, with Hulkenberg finishing 12th at last weekend\u2019s Austrian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n