Audi faced an extremely challenging weekend at the Miami Formula 1 GP, marked by several technical problems with the cars of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. The series of failures left the team without points for the third consecutive round of the season.
Even managing a promising performance in the Sprint qualifying, with Hulkenberg in 11th and Bortoleto in 12th, Audi saw problems arise quickly. The German driver was not even able to start the Sprint race after his car caught fire due to a leak, while the Brazilian finished 11th but was disqualified for an irregularity in the air intake pressure.
Before the qualifying session for Sunday’s GP, the team had to replace both gearboxes and also the power unit of Hulkenberg’s car. Even so, the veteran managed to advance to 11th place on the grid, while Bortoleto suffered from a brake problem and finished only 22nd.
In the GP, Hulkenberg retired after just seven laps following a touch with Carlos Sainz at turn 1 and an unspecified technical problem. Bortoleto managed to recover during the race and finished 12th, thirteen seconds away from the points zone.
The Brazilian admitted that the team is still going through a learning period with the new technical regulations, and highlighted that the problems faced in Miami were all different from each other: “I don’t think we had a single problem the same as another. We had many, to be honest, this weekend,” he said.
Bortoleto also pointed out Audi’s disadvantage compared to more experienced manufacturers: “We are a new engine manufacturer. We have only two cars. There are manufacturers running with eight cars using the same power unit. We need to be patient. When everything is resolved, I’m sure it will be good,” he added.
The team’s race director, Allan McNish, explained that Hulkenberg’s retirement in the race happened due to overheating in the transmission system and indicated that the failure was probably not related to the previous problems. He also acknowledged the frustration of not being able to get both cars on the Sprint race grid.
“We need reliability. After that, we can develop other areas as well. That is clearly the number one focus,” McNish said. The director also highlighted that other power unit manufacturers face difficulties but admitted that Audi needs to evolve quickly, especially since it has completed only 331 of the 524 possible laps so far this season.
