German Force India driver Nico Hülkenberg experienced quite a number of ups and downs since he returned to Formula 1, driving for the Silverstone-based team. Hülkenberg, who lost his Williams in 2010, lies 16th in the driver standings, but is sure that the squad will improve.
Statistically the Vijay Mallya-run operation is having its best ever season, even though the team languishes eighth in the Championship after targeting a top five placing at the start of this year's campaign. This is due to the improvements of Williams and Sauber.
Speaking to the official F1 website, the German said: “Although we improved our car, we have to be realistic. Pace-wise we are still behind Sauber, Williams and all of the front-runners. This means that we have the chance to beat Williams, Sauber or Mercedes when our weekend goes completely smoothly and they struggle. In qualifying this happens more often, but in the race they have 50, 60 or 70 laps to get their faster cars in front of ours, so our race pace actually shows us where we really are.”
Hülkenberg, who has an impressive early career before coming to Formula 1, remains positive about an uplift.
When asked if a recovery is possible with nine races remaining, he replied: “Of course. We already showed last year that our development speed is very competitive and I do not see a reason why we shouldn't be able to repeat that again. We're only seven points shy of Williams and I think we can catch them. I don't know whether it’s possible to catch Sauber, it will be difficult, but the whole team will try their very best, that´s for sure.”
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2026 F1 Championship Standings
| P | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 0 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 0 |
| 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 0 |
| 4 | Andrea Antonelli | Mercedes | 0 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 0 |
| 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 0 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 0 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 0 |
| 9 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 0 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 0 |
| 11 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 0 |
| 12 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 0 |
| 13 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 0 |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 0 |
| 15 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 0 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 0 |
| 17 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi | 0 |
| 18 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 0 |
| 19 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 0 |
| 20 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 0 |
| 21 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 0 |
| 22 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 0 |
| P | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 2 | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 3 | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 4 | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 5 | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 6 | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 7 | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 8 | TGR Haas F1 Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 9 | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 10 | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 11 | Cadillac F1 Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
2026 MotoGP Championship Standings
| P | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Ducati Lenovo | 0 |
| 2 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo | 0 |
| 3 | Alex Marquez | Gresini Racing | 0 |
| 4 | Fermin Aldeguer | Gresini Racing | 0 |
| 5 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Pertamina Enduro VR46 | 0 |
| 6 | Franco Morbidelli | Pertamina Enduro VR46 | 0 |
| 7 | Pedro Acosta | Red Bull KTM | 0 |
| 8 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM | 0 |
| 9 | Marco Bezzecchi | Aprilia Racing | 0 |
| 10 | Jorge Martin | Aprilia Racing | 0 |
| 11 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha | 0 |
| 12 | Alex Rins | Monster Energy Yamaha | 0 |
| 13 | Raul Fernandez | Trackhouse Racing | 0 |
| 14 | Ai Ogura | Trackhouse Racing | 0 |
| 15 | Luca Marini | Honda HRC Castrol | 0 |
| 16 | Joan Mir | Honda HRC Castrol | 0 |
| 17 | Enea Bastianini | KTM Tech3 | 0 |
| 18 | Maverick Viñales | KTM Tech3 | 0 |
| 19 | Johann Zarco | Castrol Honda LCR | 0 |
| 20 | Diogo Moreira | Pro Honda LCR | 0 |
| 21 | Jack Miller | Pramac Racing | 0 |
| 22 | Toprak Razgatlıoğlu | Pramac Racing | 0 |
| P | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ducati Lenovo Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 2 | BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 3 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 4 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 5 | Aprilia Racing | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 6 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 7 | Trackhouse MotoGP Team | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 8 | Honda HRC Castrol | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 9 | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 10 | Honda LCR MotoGP | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||
| 11 | Prima Pramac Racing | 0 |
| Poles: 0 Sprint wins: 0 GP wins: 0 | ||