First DHL Fastest Pit Stop for Audi! Hülkenberg in the points at Zandvoort

Formula 1 returned to Zandvoort to open the second half of the season. Audi driver Nico Hülkenberg was aiming for more championship points at the penultimate sprint weekend of the season, but retirement with a technical issue put an early end to his sprint race.

As everyone knows, the big points are awarded on Sunday, but Hülkenberg had a scary moment on the opening lap when teammate Gabriel Bortoleto spun across the track right in front of him. It was only his instinctive reactions and a matter of inches that saved him from a crash. Hülkenberg then fought his way into the points on the restart after Max Verstappen's red flag.

Overtaking is notoriously difficult at Circuit Zandvoort, so he was able to defend his position in the run-up to his first pit stop on lap 19 when he swapped his soft tires for a fresh set. On a day when the pit crews didn't seem to be quite on their toes, Audi's mechanics delivered a top-notch performance. They changed Hülkenberg's tires and sent him back out on his way in just 2.3 seconds, securing the team's first-ever DHL Fastest Pit Stop.

The German driver then clawed his way up through the midfield to secure his second points-scoring finish in a row with eighth place. "It's super important for me, for the team, for the championship," said a very happy Hülkenberg. "It gives everyone's mood a lift and confirms the work we have put in, that we are in the right direction."