Gabriel Bortoleto has been one of the good names in the midfield pack of the 2026 Formula 1 season. In an exclusive conversation with F1MANIA.NET, the driver commented on whether he is surprised by Audi’s strong start in the category, what balance he makes of the first 11 rounds, and sets goals for the second half of the calendar.
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The German manufacturer was one of the rookie teams on the grid this championship, despite having taken over the structure before Sauber. However, as a newcomer producing its own engine, it was expected to struggle at the start of the campaign – but it has shown strength that impresses the paddock.
In the first 11 rounds contested, it managed to score 12 points with Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg, appearing in eighth position in the Constructors’ Championship and nine points away from reaching Haas, in eighth place.
Therefore, Gabriel, in a chat with F1MANIA.NET, commented on whether he expected to see such performance at the start of the season. “Our intention is to build a long-term project, so I honestly expected our first year to be more difficult than it is, I think we started the season very well, with points, with Q3, something impressive,” he said.
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Next, the driver of car #5 also took the opportunity to make a balance of the first 11 rounds contested – he scored points in three rounds and has two eighth places as his best results, in addition to having advanced to Q3 on three occasions so far. “An extremely positive balance, there is nothing to complain about,” he pointed out.
Finally, Bortoleto outlined what he expects from Audi until the end of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Brazilian highlighted that he would like to finish ahead of the Racing Bulls, despite knowing the difficulty, and emphasized that “I know the plans we have for the future evolution of the car, the engine, and I am looking at the long term and I am very excited.”
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