Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto admitted that going off track at the last corner of the Shanghai International Circuit during his final attempt to reach Q3 in qualifying for this Saturday’s (14) Formula 1 Chinese GP was the result of an attempt to push the Audi equipment to the limit.
Read more F1: Russell overcomes problems and celebrates P2 on the grid in China
In an interview with Globo shortly after the end of Q2, the driver, who managed to set the seventh fastest time in the first part of qualifying, was frank about his maneuver: “I lost the rear of the car, which had already been very sensitive throughout the lap. But, [the fault] is completely mine. I tried to get everything I could out of it and ended up losing the rear. I knew it was the last lap of Q2 and unfortunately it ended like this.”
Bortoleto also highlighted that the car is below the pace shown during the Australian GP, where the driver from São Paulo managed to score the first points in Audi’s F1 history. “It’s not like in Melbourne. The pace and everything we had there was very positive. Here we are further back, I think not by much. I think the other teams have also gotten a bit closer. People are getting to grips with the car and we learned some things here at this track. But, let’s see what can be done in the race. We’ll give it our best,” the driver concluded.
Read more F1: Antonelli secures historic pole position at the Chinese GP
The result left Bortoleto in 16th place on the grid for the main race in China, which is scheduled for 4:00 am this Sunday (15). F1MANIA.NET follows the entire event with real-time coverage.
Read more 2026 Chinese GP: F1 Sprint Race live from Shanghai
