Kimi Antonelli wins Miami GP | Highlights | Formula 1
The turbulent Miami Grand Prix marked the debut of Allan McNish as Audi’s new F1 race director. With Gabriel Bortoleto finishing 12th and Nico Hulkenberg retiring, the team remains on just two points in the constructors’ championship. Nevertheless, the new manager believes the fledgling squad has done an excellent job early in the season.
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Allan McNish, Audi race director — Photo: Getty Images
Bortoleto scored the team’s only points with a ninth-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix. While acknowledging the need for improvement, especially given the technical glitches in the opening races, McNish expressed satisfaction with the current situation.
“We have to be realistic. We are the rookies here. We have a lot to learn both on and off the track; so, from that perspective, I think where we are right now is a very good start. Of course, we want to improve. We want to improve what we are doing here at the circuit so that operationally we perform more consistently at a high level. We want to ensure we improve in areas we can control,” he assessed in an interview with F1’s official website.
When they managed to stay on track without technical failures, Bortoleto and Hulkenberg posted consistent results around the top 10, sometimes a bit above or below. However, both drivers have suffered heavily from reliability issues.
For instance, the Brazilian saw his gears fail right after securing a top-10 grid spot in Australia, did not even start in China, was disqualified from the Miami sprint race due to incorrect car air pressure, and ended up 21st in qualifying after his Audi caught fire (see video below).
Bortoleto’s car catches fire at the rear during Miami GP qualifying
Hulkenberg, meanwhile, failed to start the Australian GP and the Miami sprint, and also retired early from the main race in Miami and the China sprint.
Faced with so many problems, McNish acknowledged that Audi cannot always fight for the top 10 at this stage, but stressed that the German team’s project is long-term, pointing to future upgrades.
“Where will this take us? We hope to be knocking on the door of Q3, consistently knocking on the door of points, but ultimately we also know that won’t always be possible. So we have to accept that this is the first year of a long-term project and not necessarily fixate on the next race, but also keep that vision of where we are going,” he added.
Bortoleto’s car off track during qualifying for the Chinese GP — Photo: Guido De Bortoli/LAT Images
In the Scotsman’s view, the main performance bottleneck for Audi so far is the engine – which is no surprise, since the rookie team decided to develop its own power unit and competes against established suppliers like Mercedes and Ferrari.
“Regarding the power unit, this is the biggest and most difficult job, without a doubt. Coming here for the first time, there is a lot of learning to be done. I don’t believe we are at our best performance right now. We have some work to do there and we are a bit below in terms of performance.”
On the other hand, McNish praised parts of the team’s work, especially the aerodynamic side and how race operations are conducted.
“From the car point of view, I think they have done a really good job. I don’t know if many people expected us to show up this strong. The area I am most satisfied with, actually, is the people behind the cameras. If I look at the race operations team, if I see what has been built here and also at the factory in Hinwil, Switzerland, it is a young team that is building and advancing together,” he began, adding:
“From what I know of my previous experience in motorsport, sports cars – and Le Mans is a perfect example – it’s not always a sprint. Although individual races are a sprint, a championship is about endurance and the long-term vision. Here, I think we are building for the future very well,” he concluded.
The next round of the Formula 1 season is the Canadian Grand Prix, taking place from May 22 to 24.