Audi failed to finish within the points at the United States Grand Prix of Formula 1 this Sunday (25). While Nico Hülkenberg complained of issues at the start, Gabriel Bortoleto gave a positive assessment.
The German started from 12th place, but due to problems at the start, he ended up losing positions. He then tried to make up ground and crossed the finish line in 11th place, just outside the top-10.
“Unfortunately, we lost ground right at the start, when the car briefly entered anti-stall mode. It was odd because it happened a few meters after leaving the pit, not immediately. The feel and the sound were somewhat unusual; therefore, we will need to investigate what happened and understand the reason. Obviously, losing those positions so early made the rest of the afternoon quite difficult.”
“From there on, I believe we did what was possible. Our pace was quite similar to the cars around us, especially those from Racing Bulls, but once behind it’s hard to recover. It’s hard to say what might have been possible with a normal start, but the midfield pack remains extremely balanced. We will take whatever we can from this weekend and head to Mexico in search of a new opportunity,” he continued.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian driver had to stage a recovery after starting from the back of the pack due to a penalty for an engine change. In the end, he crossed the line in 13th place.
“Overall, it was a good race; the car behaved well and we had a solid pace. I managed to overtook several cars cleanly, and it was fun to be in the thick of the fight, giving my best and turning good laps. Of course, it’s always difficult to regain many positions after starting from the back, but it’s positive to end the Austin round with a good result. I hope we can carry these positive points to Mexico and have an even better weekend next week,” he concluded.
