Jonathan Wheatley is not too concerned by Nico Hulkenberg’s qualifying dip against Gabriel Bortoleto, as he shares update on Audi F1 programme.
Beating Sauber’s Hulkenberg on one lap is a big up game and F1 rookie Bortoleto has so far upped him in the German’s own playground in 2025. The Brazilian is 11 to 6 up on the veteran in qualifying battle, while lags by 19 points in the race trim to be 18th against 10th.
Granted Hulkenberg has a podium against his name, but for now Bortoleto can enjoy the one lap game. The German is not too fussed about the situation and neither is Sauber team boss Wheatley. The Brit has concurred with his driver that there is no real issue, it is just circumstances and situations.
Hulkenberg has been unlucky in some places while Bortoleto has managed to keep it clean all-through. There is no reason to worry as yet. “No, I think we have to put it in perspective,” said Wheatley. “Nico’s a super-fast driver over one lap and race pace — I mean, he’s extraordinary. He turns up every weekend in top form.
“And if you actually analyse, as the team does, every single element of qualifying performance, he’s had a run of a few things — self-inflicted, a few things where the car has been a bit tricky in some conditions as well. I don’t think there’s an underlying problem here that we need to be concerned about at all. And as with all of these things, it can turn itself around in a heartbeat.
“When we talk about how close it is in the midfield pack and the fight that we’re in, we’re often talking about a thousandth of a second or two hundredths of a second — the difference between getting through to the next period of qualifying. And I think that’s just what we’re seeing. I mean, if I look across the grid, if you’re fortunate to be a consistent top-10 qualifier, there’s bigger gaps between the drivers there,” summed up Wheatley.
He also shared an update on the Audi programme, with about six months to go for everything to get serious. While it is Mattia Binotto who is handling the Hinwil and Neuburg bases, but Wheatley is also keeping an eye on how things are progressing, especially on the power unit side.
“Well, it’s a hugely busy time for every Formula 1 team, and everyone’s focus naturally turns to 2026,” said Wheatley. “We are on schedule with our dyno program. The engine’s been on the dyno for a while now. The focus now is on reliability because, as you say, we’ll be running the car in an incredibly short period of time.
“It’s an exciting period in the Audi F1 project, obviously mating chassis and powertrain together for the first time in December. Our simulator programme naturally starts to lean towards 2026 as well. But I think in both of those programmes, it’s a little bit too early to talk about performance — which might be your next question. And of course, we won’t really know any of this until the first qualifying session and the first race in Melbourne.”
Here’s Nico Hulkenberg on Azerbaijan GP