Audi finished the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1 with Nico Hulkenberg in 12th and Gabriel Bortoleto in 11th, both outside the points zone. Despite the result, the team assessed that it managed to extract practically everything from the car on a circuit considered unfavorable to its characteristics.
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Audi’s race director, Allan McNish, highlighted that the starts harmed both drivers, especially due to the long distance to the first corner: “The starts made life difficult for Nico and Gabriel, and with such a long distance to Turn 1, losing positions at the start meant we were always trying to recover,” he said.
Hulkenberg managed to advance a few positions on the second start and considered the performance more consistent given the expected difficulties for the weekend. The German, however, lost ground again shortly after and admitted that the team will need to analyze the episode: “We will need to review exactly what happened and understand if there was something we could have done differently,” he said.
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Bortoleto also attributed part of the difficulties to the start of the race and acknowledged that the effort to recover positions impacted the tires. The Brazilian also highlighted the Racing Bulls’ pace on the straights: “They were quite strong today, especially on the straights, and keeping up with them was harder than we expected,” he added.
McNish positively evaluated the team’s execution, citing the strategy used during the Virtual Safety Car for Hulkenberg and the mechanics’ work in the pit stop. Bortoleto, in turn, stated that the car allowed a closer fight for points than expected and now aims for better opportunities in Madrid, while Hulkenberg also highlighted that the team will continue analyzing the performance before the next stage.
