(Motorsport-Total.com) – Audi has taken a big gulp from the points bottle in recent weeks: In both Silverstone and Belgium, Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto raced across the finish line in eighth place, collecting a total of eight World Championship points for the Ingolstadt-based team.
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Previously, the two points from the season opener in Australia were the only tangible result for Audi. Now, however, they are suddenly only one point behind Williams and eleven points behind Haas, and both teams have been without points for four races now. Are the Ingolstadt-based team perhaps already eyeing seventh place in the Constructors’ World Championship?
“I’m not looking at the championship, but at the next race,” says Allan McNish, the responsible Audi race director, soberly. “If we continue to develop and score a few more points, the rest will come by itself. We’ve definitely had a series of good races recently.”
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“But I expect the competition to fight back,” warns the Scot against premature hopes. “I expect them to come with upgrades too. That’s why I prefer not to look too far ahead. I’ve learned over the years: If you look too far into the future, you miss what’s right in front of you.”
“Clean performance”: Allan McNish praises Gabriel Bortoleto
Praise goes primarily to Bortoleto, who successfully defended himself against Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bulls in Belgium. “I think Gabi undoubtedly handled that pressure very well,” praises McNish, even though the lead over the rookie was “consistently about two and a half to three seconds.”
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“But he showed a really confident and clean performance until the end of the race,” adds the Audi official. Teammate Nico Hülkenberg, on the other hand, once again came away empty-handed on the Ardennes rollercoaster, finishing only 13th.
“That was only due to traffic. It was solely due to traffic,” emphasizes McNish, stating that the German was not simply too slow. “In terms of performance and lap times, when both were in a comparable position, Nico’s pace was just as high as Gasly’s.”
The Audi driver had already struggled with technical problems on Saturday and therefore started the race from twelfth place. After his pit stop, Hülkenberg returned to the track just ahead of Gasly’s Alpine, but behind the Racing Bulls. This ultimately cost the German a better result.
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