(Motorsport-Total.com) – For Audi, the Friday practice at the Belgian Grand Prix was quite productive – yet Nico Hülkenberg enters the rest of the weekend with tempered expectations. The German currently sees his team somewhat further from the top 10 on the high-speed Spa-Francorchamps circuit than recently.
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Additionally, he received a warning from the race stewards for a violation under double yellow flags. Although the raw timing sheets do not necessarily look promising, Hülkenberg sees potential in the R26. The focus of the first practice day was mainly on different setup variants, from which the team now has to draw the right conclusions.
“It was an interesting day,” Hülkenberg summarizes. “We tried different things with both cars and clearly divided the programs between the sessions. From this, we gained some interesting insights that we now have to evaluate overnight.”
Audi tests different setups
As the team confirms, Hülkenberg and teammate Gabriel Bortoleto pursued different test programs in the first and second free practice sessions. Various aerodynamic configurations and tire compounds were tested to collect as much data as possible for the rest of the weekend.
Hülkenberg finished twelfth in the first practice and dropped to seventeenth in the second. Bortoleto, on the other hand, impressed with tenth and thirteenth positions. For the German, however, the placements only partially reflect the actual performance capability.
“Now we have to analyze everything and bring the best possible car to the track for tomorrow.” Spa traditionally presents engineers with a difficult compromise. “Sector 1 and Sector 3 are classic top-speed sectors, while Sector 2 mainly demands grip.”
It is precisely this balancing act that makes the weekend more difficult for Audi than recently. “I think it will be a bit more challenging this weekend. The top 10 are probably a bit further away than in the past races.”
Hülkenberg: “Tomorrow will be a stretch”
Despite the rather cautious assessment, Hülkenberg does not want to give up hope for a good qualifying. Part of the deficits is also due to Audi deliberately testing different setup directions.
“Partly yes,” he answers when asked if the placements reflect the actual competitiveness. “We were still experimenting today and trying different things.”
That is exactly what Fridays are for. “Friday is a learning day. We found some interesting things that we now have to process overnight.” The 38-year-old therefore sees some positives. “Not everything is bad.”
Nevertheless, he expects a tough task on Saturday. “Tomorrow will definitely be a stretch.” However, there should be no more big experiments. “No, actually not. That was for today. Now it gets serious.”
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Audi praises productive Friday practice
The team also drew a positive interim conclusion despite the placements. The first practice day was mainly dedicated to gathering as much information as possible, after the new generation of cars was on track at Spa-Francorchamps for the first time.
The changing conditions additionally complicated the program, yet both drivers were able to complete their planned test programs without interruptions. With the extensive data collection, the focus is now fully on the overnight analysis to optimally set up the car for qualifying and the race.
Gabriel Bortoleto was also satisfied with Friday. “It was a normal, productive Friday. We collected a lot of data in both sessions.” The Brazilian also sees room for improvement.
“There is still a lot to learn and quite a bit to improve. Tonight we will go through all the data and find out where we can still find performance so that both the car and I are in the best possible position for qualifying tomorrow.”
Warning after double yellow
However, a decision by the race stewards against Nico Hülkenberg caused additional discussion. The Audi driver received a warning after the first free practice because he did not sufficiently reduce speed in a double yellow flag sector.
The investigation, however, showed that the double yellow phase was only activated after Hülkenberg had already entered the relevant section and passed the crashed car.
The German explained to the stewards that he had neither seen yellow flags nor the corresponding light panels. Only when a warning appeared on his steering wheel and then the green signal at the end of the sector became visible did he realize that the track was at least under yellow.
He then lifted off the throttle, but according to the stewards, this reaction did not meet the requirements that apply in a double yellow flag sector.
At the same time, the stewards acknowledged the exceptional circumstances. Due to the quick changes of direction in corners five and six, Hülkenberg had very little time to correctly identify the flashing warning on his steering wheel – which indicates double yellow.
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