(Motorsport-Total.com) – On Friday before the Hungarian Grand Prix, Audi showed itself in extremely promising form. Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto had no technical problems at any point on the Hungaroring and were at the top of the midfield in the long runs.
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“It was a pretty straightforward Friday,” was the assessment of the more experienced Audi driver. In FP1, Hülkenberg recorded position eight, while he was able to finish FP2 in position nine. Bortoleto achieved P6 and P11 in the two sessions respectively.
Especially the second free practice was a challenge from the perspective of last year’s rookie. “FP2 was a little more difficult, especially on the soft tire,” said Bortoleto.
The windy conditions on the Hungaroring also posed problems for the teams. Alpine Race Director Dave Greenwood, for example, explained Franco Colapinto’s off in the last corner. Overall, the team with the four rings is extremely satisfied.
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“I would say it was a good day,” Hülkenberg concluded. It remains questionable whether the 38-year-old will have a problem-free weekend in Hungary. In Spa-Francorchamps, technical problems had cost him a better grid position. Consequently, only teammate Bortoleto managed to score important World Championship points for the former Sauber team on the Ardennes rollercoaster.
The lack of power unit performance should not play too big a role on “Monaco without guardrails”. Accordingly, Audi is not only thinking about the third consecutive top 10 result, but also about seventh place in the Constructors’ World Championship.
After the race in Spa, the team is in ninth position with ten points. Only a single World Championship point is missing for eighth place, while Audi and seventh-placed team Haas are separated by only eleven points.
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