© Antonin Vincent / DPPI
Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix was a fairly clear summary of Audi’s start to the Formula 1 season, with pace and mechanical problems.
A car in Q3, the one from Gabriel Bortoleto, another one, that of Nico Hulkenbergwhich was forced to stop at the side of the track at the end of Q2 due to a hydraulic problem. Once again, Audi failed to deliver a perfectly clean performance, despite a pace that puts them in contention for points.
The Brazilian driver was all smiles after another Q3 qualification. Gabriel Bortoleto continues to prove that he can perform consistently, and he’s aiming for points this Sunday against the Racing Bulls, who will be as fast as ever.
“I’m extremely happy. I think we got the most out of what we had, maybe even a little more. So yes, very satisfied. I think we can try to score some points. It won’t be easy. We know the Racing Bulls are a bit ahead of us. I managed to overtake one of them in Q3, but I’m sure the race will be tough against them because they’re fast. But I’m going to give it my all.”
“We made things difficult for ourselves.”
For Nico Hülkenberg, qualifying was once again marred by a mechanical issue, this time with the hydraulic system. The German driver experienced problems with gear changes from the very beginning of the session, and while he still hopes to recover in the race, it’s clear that the mechanical issues are starting to affect him.
“We had gearbox problems. The gear changes weren’t working properly right from the start of qualifying. And then the team told me to stop the car because of a hydraulic issue, I think. Hopefully, we’ll do a bit better on Sunday. We can make up some ground, but well… it wasn’t a clean qualifying session in Q1 to begin with. We made things difficult for ourselves, and then on top of that, the technical problems. It’s just… you never know, it just goes from bad to worse, and there’s always something going on on my end.”
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