As Speedcafe reports, Audi is heading into the weekend with a gorgeous Brazil-inspired look for the Audi R26, crafted by title partner Revolut to celebrate the local flavor ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto’s home race at Interlagos.
At the heart of the design is a striking geometric pattern drawn straight from Sao Paulo’s distinctive Piso Paulista pavement. This brilliant local touch doesn't just stop at the machine itself; the pattern will also grace the race suits of Bortoleto and teammate Nico Hulkenberg, alongside the pit crew's uniforms and the team's garage branding. It makes for the third special livery of the 2026 season for Audi, following previous alternative designs for the Monaco and Singapore Grands Prix.
This fresh look is part of a much broader collaboration involving Revolut and Adidas, which has already delivered a special Sao Paulo-themed Revolut card and the Adidas Sampa Soul clothing collection. Audi’s chief brand and commercial officer Stefano Battiston explained that the team wanted to weave the city’s unmistakable character across their entire race weekend presentation. "Sao Paulo has an unmistakable identity, and we wanted that to run through everything we bring to this race," Battiston said. "Revolut’s Audi R26 special livery takes the story onto the track, building on the Revolut card and the adidas Sampa Soul collection, with the race suits and garage branding completing that shared creative language."
That said, the stakes here go far beyond aesthetics. The occasion carries massive significance for Bortoleto as he races in front of his home fans for a second time, while Audi aims to claw its way up the constructors’ championship. The German manufacturer arrives at the weekend sitting eighth in the standings with 27 points, merely four points behind Haas in seventh.
Within the team's internal battle, Bortoleto has put 14 points on the board to sit 14th in the drivers’ championship, just one point ahead of Hulkenberg, who holds 15th on 13 points. Adding even more spice to the fight with Haas, Rafael Camara is stepping in to replace Esteban Ocon at the American team for the rest of the season ahead of a full-time seat in 2027.
It all sets up a historic moment for the local faithful: this weekend marks the first time since 2016 that a pair of Brazilian drivers will line up on the grid at Interlagos, echoing the days when Felipe Massa drove for Williams and Felipe Nasr raced for Sauber—the very team that has now evolved into Audi.
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