Gabriel Bortoleto has made a surprising admission following his strong performance at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
Audi’s work team made its debut in F1 in Australia, taking over from Sauber, including the first race for its first power unit in the sport.
The German manufacturer had a highly respectable first race weekend, reaching Q3 on its first attempt and scoring points in Sunday’s grand prix.
However, it was Bortoleto who did the heavy lifting for Audi in the race, as Hulkenberg retired before the race started due to a technical issue.
The Brazilian was delighted with his work after the race, but revealed some of his overtakes were made by accident as a result of the energy deployment issues that characterised the race.
“It was very nice, I must say, but a lot of things to be learned still,” he said to media, including Motorsport Week.
“I made overtakes – that I didn’t want to make – by mistake, because I had so much energy and the other car was clipping like crazy.
“But you need to think a lot when you’re racing. Last year, everything was much more predictable. So, as soon as you make an overtake, it was done. And now you make an overtake, you need to calculate the next three straights, because maybe the guy will overtake you back, then you need to overtake him back in the other one. And it keeps going like that until everyone is in the same state of energy.
“I wish I could give you more than this, but I’m still a bit confused with the regs. And I’m getting to know them better while we live them.”
Asked if the new rules were “too complicated or something you’ll learn over time”, he replied: “I think you’ll learn over time.”
Gabriel Bortoleto “surprised” at Audi pace
The turnaround in Australia was surprising for Bortoleto, the Brazilian admitting surprise given issues for Audi in pre-season testing.
“I’m very happy and very positive,” he said. “The team has done an incredible job. All winter working very hard to put a car in one piece that finished the first race, got the first Q3. So, it’s the start of a long journey, but extremely happy.
“If someone told me we were going to score points in our first ever race and be in Q3, man, I would have said they were drunk or what’, because it was a bit tough at the beginning for us – a lot of problems, a lot of things happening. But the team has managed to put an incredible piece of art and deliver a great result.”
Reflecting on his race start, he admitted it was a “messy” affair, after he fell down the order initially at lights out.
“There were a lot of messy things happening,” he said. “It was just a crazy race. I still need to think a little bit [about] what happened. But the start was a messy one. A lot of lock-ups, a lot of very good and bad starts. And pitstops, safety cars. It was one of the 100 [things] that happened.”
Audi’s performance in Australia was eye-opening, given it debuted a new power unit. In development since 2022, the German manufacturer has scope to cause upsets in 2026, should its upward trajectory continues.
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