Binotto Firmly Backs Hülkenberg and Bortoleto After Swap Rumours

Overview

• Audi team principal Mattia Binotto told reporters at Silverstone that the team is committed to its current pairing and that both Nico Hülkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto remain first‑choice drivers.
• The denial directly responds to reports by journalist Ralf Bach that Audi management had grown less convinced by Hülkenberg’s performances following the Austrian Grand Prix.
• TJ13’s Silverstone paddock sources say there may be some truth to those off‑the‑record doubts, leaving a gap between Binotto’s public stance and anonymous internal chatter.
• On track context fuels the scrutiny because Audi has faced reliability problems and four retirements in eight rounds, with Bortoleto on two points and Hülkenberg still without a point while the team sits ninth in the constructors’ standings.
• Carlos Sainz has been repeatedly linked as a potential alternative despite his Williams move, and Williams principal James Vowles has publicly restated Sainz’s commitment to Williams while noting the driver market can be unpredictable.