(Motorsport-Total.com) – Audi travels with confidence to the Formula 1 weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. After the team scored the first World Championship points of the season at the season opener in Australia in March, it had to wait until the British Grand Prix for the next points. The eighth place in Silverstone is now intended to mark the beginning of a sustainable upward trend, which Audi wants to confirm on one of the most traditional tracks in the racing calendar.
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With eighth place in Silverstone, the team collected important World Championship points. At the same time, the result underlined the progress made in recent races both in performance and operational implementation. Before the last back-to-back race before the summer break, the focus is now on continuing this development.
Audi racing director Allan McNish looks optimistically to the upcoming weekend: “Silverstone was another positive step forward for our team. We consistently held our own in the fight at the top of the midfield, and the return to the points, after two races just outside the top 10, was a well-deserved reward for the hard work behind the scenes.”
Confirming progress further
“It is especially important that we saw encouraging signs throughout the weekend. We have continuously improved in recent races, and now the challenge is to maintain this level permanently. The mood in the team is positive, and everyone is working in the same direction,” McNish continued.
“Spa is a demanding track and presents our cars with different challenges than Silverstone. At the same time, the weekend offers another good opportunity to continue our progress.”
Hülkenberg sees positive momentum
Nico Hülkenberg had to retire early in Silverstone due to a gearbox failure. Nevertheless, the German sees the team’s recent development positively: “Having to end the race in Silverstone early due to a gearbox problem was hard to accept, especially because we were in a position to fight for points. However, the positive thing is that our pace has improved significantly in recent races.”
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Nevertheless, optimism prevails for Hülkenberg. The German now sees the team much better positioned and wants to confirm the positive trend at Spa as well: “We have consistently held our own at the top of the midfield, and that is exactly what we want to build on now. Now it’s off to Spa, one of the classic tracks on the calendar, and I am looking forward to getting back in the car. If we deliver a clean weekend, we have a good chance of achieving a solid result.”
Bortoleto wants to continue development
His teammate Gabriel Bortoleto is also traveling to Belgium with momentum. The Brazilian sees the points success in Silverstone as confirmation of the work done so far: “The points in Silverstone were a great result for the team and a nice reward for the work done. At the same time, it is an additional motivation boost before the last double race before the summer break.”
“We have improved step by step in recent races, and it is important to continue this development. Spa is a fantastic race track, and I am looking forward to driving there again, continuing to learn how to get the maximum out of our car, and hopefully fighting for a strong result again,” said the Brazilian.
With the positive impressions from recent races, Audi hopes to continue the upward trend at Spa-Francorchamps and successfully resume the fight for more World Championship points.
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