The R26 overcame the morning’s problems. Five laps in the morning with a new alarm bell in terms of reliability, but a good 55 in the afternoon to finally start to increase the ‘mileage’ of the R26. It was a two-peat day-3 for Audi in the Barcelona Shakedown. Nico Hulkenberg did very little lap in the morning due to a technical problem, but in the afternoon he was able to lap without any problems. “We had a slow start due to a technical problem which lost us some time, but once we got going again, the afternoon turned into a really productive experience, with a good number of laps and valuable first impressions of the car – said Nico Hulkenberg – these new cars are incredibly complex and there is still so much to discover. It really is like working with a blank sheet of paper, it’s exciting. Overall it was a solid first step.” Audi still has a day of testing available between today and tomorrow when the Barcelona Shakedown ends.
