Memorable debut
In an Australian Grand Prix that rewarded all the talent of a rookie like Arvid Lindblad, a true surprise of the race on the Albert Park circuit, in Melbourne world championship points also arrived for another debutant team: it is Audi, which in the first weekend of its history in Formula 1 immediately reached the top-10 thanks to the 9° place of Gabriel Bortoleto.
Read more Bearman: “Being ‘the best of the rest’ is a great result for the team”
The pride of the Four Rings
The Brazilian, who had already brought the R26 into the top ten in qualifying, fought during the race to maintain a points-scoring position, succeeding on his first attempt: “Finishing in the points in our first event as Audi and writing a piece of motorsport history is something the whole team can be extremely proud of – he stated – it was a positive race at the end of a good weekend for us: the car and the power unit worked reliably all day, which is a great reward for the huge effort put in over the winter to prepare everything for the season. The race itself was quite challenging and at times a bit chaotic with the new regulations, so there are still many things to study and understand better. But the pace was strong, communication was excellent and the team executed the race very well. Overall, it is probably more than we could have expected from the first weekend. This result provides us with a good base to start from, but we know there are still many aspects we can improve on. Many races lie ahead and now our goal is to continue learning, developing the car and returning even stronger in the next events.”
Read more Gasly brings home a point: “Hard-earned, but we are satisfied”
Hülkenberg absent from the grid
Total disappointment, unfortunately, for Nico Hülkenberg. While Oscar Piastri did not take part in his home GP due to an accident on the formation lap, the German remained stuck in the pits due to a technical problem that did not allow him to line up on the grid: “Unfortunately, we didn’t have the chance to race today. We had a technical problem while preparing for the starting grid and we couldn’t fix it in time for the start. The team is investigating to understand exactly what happened. It is obviously frustrating to miss the race and the opportunity to learn more. That said, it’s positive to see the team finish in the points thanks to Gabi, which is a great result and a great way to start the F1 era for Audi. The races follow one another quickly, so we reset and start again next week.”
Read more Volvo ES90, how the first 800 Volt electric car is doing
