Nico Hulkenberg has admitted that Audi has “a lot of room for improvement” as the German manufacturer’s inaugural year in Formula 1 continues.
Audi has endured a turbulent start to its inagural year in F1, as it grapples with understanding its first power unit in the sport as well as the new cars.
The team’s performance in Miami saw it suffer multiple reliability issues across the weekend, while Canada showcased a strategic mistake.
Audi incorrectly gambled on starting the race on intermediate tyres on a drying track, forcing both drivers to pit in the opening laps for slicks.
Asked by Motorsport Week ahead of the F1 Monaco GP about the issues in Montreal, Hulkenberg said the team had been focusing on learning lessons from both Canada and Miami.
“I think we’ll, you know, we’re here to compete,” he said.
“Obviously, we want to try and, you know, score some points on Sunday, you know, and top up our account balance there.
“A lot of learning since Miami and Montreal.
‘”Obviously, Montreal was, the result wasn’t great, you know, heavily affected by the start tyre choice at the beginning of the race. A lot of learning, very dynamic, you know, still early days on the power unit side.”
Nico Hulkenberg reveals Audi strategy for improvement
The German then gave an insight into some of the areas Audi must improve, before confirming his and the team’s approach.
“A lot of things to work on, improve on, power, drivability,” he said.
So, you know, in every aspect, we have a lot of room for improvement. And I think in the, you know, week or weeks between now, you know, it’s just head down, focus, you know, take job by job, step by step and try to, you know, improve in every aspect.
Audi is going through growing pains as it settles into life in F1. The first year is always difficult, as experience counts more in the sport than most others, but each lesson makes the team stronger.
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