(Motorsport-Total.com) – Team principal Jonathan Wheatley described the fact that Formula 1 newcomer Audi was only able to start with just one car for the second time in the second Grand Prix as “extremely disappointing” and “very frustrating.” After Nico Hülkenberg in Australia, it was Gabriel Bortoleto’s turn in China. Therefore, Wheatley is certain: “We really have to focus on reliability now.”
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But Wheatley cannot yet say exactly what prevented Bortoleto from participating in the race in Shanghai: immediately after the Grand Prix, it was not yet clear which technical problem had crippled the Audi R26.
“I think it was a similar problem to Nico’s, but I don’t know for sure. Next time I can certainly say more about it,” Wheatley explained.
Could Audi have scored points with both cars?
Until then, disappointment prevails at Audi over possibly having missed out on more World Championship points in China. “That obviously makes the situation even more frustrating,” said Wheatley.
“Without the problem at the pit stop with the wheel gun, Nico would very likely have scored points. Then you automatically think: if we had had two cars in the race, maybe both cars could have finished in the points.”
The thought is not far-fetched: without the delays during the tire change, Hülkenberg would have mathematically finished in the top 10. Bortoleto would also have had a chance from 16th on the grid, considering that Williams driver Carlos Sainz still finished ninth from P17 (to the race result!).
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Shanghai highlights Audi’s weaknesses
Sainz was one of the drivers who benefited from numerous technical defects in other cars during the Grand Prix. This shows Wheatley that Audi is not the only one having difficulties implementing the new Formula 1 regulations: “Currently, no one is really having an easy time.”
However, his team struggled more in China than in Australia. “Shanghai clearly exposed our weaknesses in several areas,” said Wheatley.
Does Audi have a power unit problem?
“Specifically with the driveability of the car in race conditions, we are currently still having difficulties. Nico had a few situations that he couldn’t get out of so easily because you first have to bring the power unit back into the operating window. In principle, it’s about how the power unit reacts in such situations.”
So, does Audi have a power unit problem? “After this weekend, we’ll know more,” said Wheatley. “What I can say is that I spoke with Mattia Binotto about it for a long time.”
“We are very careful about what we say publicly about it. But our analysis has shown: in the next development cycle, the power unit is a core area. We believe we can still do something there.” Wheatley left open exactly what that was.
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