Gabriel Bortoleto was one of the Thursday’s main highlights in Formula 1 after admitting, in an exclusive interview with F1MANIA.NET, that he expected Audi to face a tougher season. The day also brought news about Rafael Câmara and Cadillac, praise from Max Verstappen and Lando Norris for Kimi Antonelli, and fresh discussions about the four-time world champion’s future.
Bortoleto stated that Audi entered 2026 trying to manage expectations, but managed to score points, advance to Q3 and show competitiveness already in its first year. The Brazilian highlighted the engineers’ work in solving problems and pointed to the starts as an area where the team still struggles, despite progress. “Honestly, I expected our first year to be harder than it’s turning out,” he said. After 11 rounds, Audi has scored points in four, three of them with Bortoleto.
Another Brazilian in the spotlight was Rafael Câmara. Cadillac’s CEO, Dan Towriss, denied that the team is currently evaluating the Formula 2 driver for 2027, classifying the rumors as unfounded at this moment. At the same time, he avoided closing the door completely: “It’s Formula 1, and things can always change.” Câmara sits third in F2 after two wins and four poles in the last six qualifying sessions.
In the title fight, Antonelli received praise from two world champions. Norris and Verstappen named the Italian as the standout of the first half of the season, a period in which the Mercedes driver earned six wins and nine podiums in 11 rounds. Norris particularly highlighted Antonelli’s consistency and the gap he had built over George Russell.
Ferrari also drew attention for the balance between its drivers. Leclerc has defeated Hamilton 6-5 in qualifying so far, but the average margin between the two is only 0.050 seconds, the smallest among the grid’s duos. In Belgium, for example, only 0.002 seconds separated them in Q3.
Meanwhile, Verstappen’s future remains open. Guenther Steiner assessed that staying at Red Bull could end up being the most logical option, since Ferrari and Mercedes have their duos lined up and few teams would represent a clear step forward for the Dutchman. The former Haas chief, however, acknowledged that McLaren’s recent progression could change this analysis.
Within McLaren itself, Andrea Stella stated that the transition from developing the current car to the 2027 project will be smoother than what occurred in the run-up to 2026. The team believes the lessons from the MCL40 can be leveraged on the next model, while continuing to manage the budget cap, wind tunnel, and simulation resources.
