The long-awaited debut
Free practice for the Australian Grand Prix concluded with overall positive results for theAudia German team making its debut in Formula 1 together with another company such as Cadillac. The House of the Four Circles has collected a significant amount of data thanks to the work of both its drivers, Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, who reached the margins of the top 10 at the end of FP1. A result that the former Saubers were unable to replicate in the following session, but still carried out the complete program at the wheel of their R26s.
Hülkenberg’s comments
A debut that satisfies the men of the team and its drivers, starting with Hülkenberg: “Overall, it was a decent first Friday of the season – commented the 38 year old German – we ran mostly cleanly and managed to complete a good number of laps, which is always important at the start of the weekend. There have been a couple of little issues here and there that we need to resolve, but it’s part of the process. It’s our first time here with the new car, so there will be a lot of information to study tonight. We’ll analyze everything and see what we can improve for tomorrow, but it’s a solid starting point.”
Bortoleto at the ‘top’
A statement similar to that of Bortoletowho reached the highest point in the rankings during the entire day with the 9th place in FP1right in front of Hülkenberg: “It was a positive first day, although there is still a lot of work to do. FP1 was very solid and smooth, which gave us a good base to build from. In FP2, I struggled a little more with a couple of aspects that we need to resolve for tomorrow, but this is part of the process with such a new regulation. At this stage, we’re focusing on improving the basics, laying the groundwork before moving on to the finer details. There are still many areas to refine with the car and power unit, and this understanding will only come with time and data. It’s still very early in the season, so the priority is to continue learning and improving ourselves.”
