Gabriel Bortoleto highlighted the profound transformation experienced by the Audi team since its arrival in Formula 1 this year, after fully taking over Sauber. According to the Brazilian, the change goes far beyond identity, directly affecting the mentality and way of working within the operation.
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Audi took control of Sauber at the start of the new generation of power unit regulations in 2026, significantly altering the team’s structure. Bortoleto stated that the support from the German manufacturer changed the financial landscape and brought more ambitious goals to the project.
“You can really see a difference, especially the mentality has changed a lot. I have a lot of respect for the team we had last year and in many previous years, but the truth, the reality, is that we are in a different situation now,” said Bortoleto.
The Brazilian driver highlighted that Audi began to offer financial resources and manufacturing structure, in addition to developing its own power unit. For him, this eliminated difficulties previously faced by the operation and also changed the way the members work: “We have Audi’s support. It is a factory team now. We are making our own engine. We have a lot of financial support from them, so we are not facing that difficulty that Sauber might have faced in the past,” he said.
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Bortoleto also drew attention to the work carried out in Neuburg, where the structure responsible for the development of the power unit is concentrated. He described the result achieved by the team in its first year in the category and under the new regulation as ‘incredible’, and highlighted that there was a significant change in the way people work: “I can really see the difference between last year and this year, in the way people are behaving and working differently,” he added.
Despite the progress, the Brazilian acknowledged that Audi still needs to evolve. Bortoleto stated that the team knows it is behind and that there are points to improve, but valued the work done so far: “We still know we need to improve. We need to do better. We know we are behind, but it is not easy to do what they have done at the factory. I take my hat off to them, and we will continue pushing and working this way,” he concluded.
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