Clearly Distinct Roles
Friday in Formula 1 is traditionally – as far as off-track matters go – the day dedicated to comments from various team principals. Among those present today at the press conference was Allan McNish, who at Audi took over from Jonathan Wheatley after the first races of the season and who is now the racing director of the Four Rings brand. A particular position, because McNish still has to ‘report’ to the person who is the top manager of the team, even though he is not always present at the track, namely Mattia Binotto.
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“Binotto is in charge of the entire program, while I take care of the activities here at the track, from strategies to marketing”, McNish explained, highlighting in detail the differentiation of roles. However, the former Scottish driver did give one indication concerning the market. In recent weeks, a rumor had emerged about a possible interest from Audi in Carlos Sainz. The hypothesis was interesting, due to Sainz’s family ties with the Four Rings brand (his father won a Dakar with them in 2024) and also because Binotto was precisely the one who had strongly wanted and then defended Sainz at Ferrari.
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Confirmed Pair
However, McNish seemed to want to lock in the Bortoleto-Hulkenberg pair, emphasizing how the two ‘fit’ perfectly with each other: “We are very lucky with Hulkenberg and Bortoleto, because they are complementary. Nico is very experienced, while Gabi is improving a lot. For us, they are the perfect combination“. So for Sainz, the doors would seem closed for now.
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