Nico Hulkenberg converted a strong qualifying performance into ninth place with an assertive, confident drive, while Gabriel Bortoleto showed an impressive recovery to finish 11th, coming within seconds of securing a double points finish for the team. The result reflects the continued progress in recent races and underlines the positive trajectory built over the past rounds. Heading into the summer break, the team leaves Budapest encouraged with another step forward and determined to build on this momentum in the second half of the season.

Allan McNish, Racing Director: "Scoring points for the third race in a row is another positive step forward for us as a team. Nico delivered an excellent drive all weekend and converted a strong performance into ninth place. Gabriel fought his way back to eleventh and came very close to making it a double points finish. The pace of the car was competitive, and we executed a clean race to maximise the opportunities available to us. We leave this weekend encouraged by the progress we are making and the way the team is continuing to develop. Now we head into the summer break with positive momentum and valuable lessons from the first part of the season. We will use this period to recharge, keep building on our foundations and come back ready to continue our development in the second half of the year.

Nico Hulkenberg (Car 27):

Race result: 9th

Fastest lap: 1:23.964 (Lap 67)

Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium) - Lap 20 (New Hard) - Lap 50 (Used Soft)

"It's a great feeling to finally get those first points of the season. There have been a few races this year where we had the pace to score but, for different reasons, things just didn't come together. We always knew the potential was there, so it's really satisfying to finally put everything together across the weekend and come away with the reward.

"We maximised what we had in qualifying yesterday and followed it up with a strong race today. Everyone executed well all weekend and it's rewarding to head into the summer break with points on the board. We'll take the opportunity to reset, look through everything we've learned over the opening part of the season, and come back ready to build on this in Zandvoort."

Gabriel Bortoleto (Car 5)

Race result: 11th

Fastest lap: 1:24.783 (Lap 33)

Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Soft) - Lap 29 (New Hard)

"I gave it everything today, and it was definitely not an easy race. We tried to make the one-stop strategy work, and with the hard tyre being quite a difficult compound compared to the soft, I had to manage a lot throughout the race. But in the end, I finished less than a second behind Arvid Lindblad, so to come that close to the points feels like a good result for the race we had.

"These are very positive signs heading into the summer break. The team has been doing an incredible job, and I'm very happy with what we've achieved so far this season. Hopefully we can keep building on this momentum in the second half of the year."