– Actually, everything looked like Audi would have excellent chances for the first World Championship points since the season opener in Australia. Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg finished the third and final practice session on Saturday afternoon in P7 and P10.
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Even before that on Friday, Audi had placed both cars in the top 10 in both practice sessions. But in the qualifying session, which is so crucial in Monaco, it ended up being only the disappointing positions 13 and 16 for Hülkenberg and his teammate.
“Qualifying didn’t quite reflect the potential we showed throughout the weekend,” says Race Director Allan McNish, annoyed after the strong practice sessions in which Audi was consistently at the top of the midfield.
But in qualifying, disaster struck already in Q1 when Bortoleto touched the wall on the inside at the entrance to the chicane after the tunnel. “Unfortunately, Gabi touched the wall in Q1 when entering the Turn 9 chicane, damaging the suspension,” explains McNish.
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Despite his previously set time, Bortoleto still made it into Q2, but could no longer participate with his damaged car. “I’m sorry for the team,” says the Brazilian, emphasizing: “We had the pace to fight for a top 10 spot.”
“But I took a few too many risks in Q1,” he admits, adding self-critically: “That’s the kind of mistake that’s understandable in Q3 when you’re pushing to the limits. But not so early in the session.”
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Thus, Hülkenberg was Audi’s last hope in Q2, but for him, it was an early end after a disappointing 13th place. “Of course, I’m disappointed with today’s qualifying result,” admits the German.
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“In the last run, we had some bad luck with traffic, which certainly wasn’t helpful. But that’s part of qualifying in Monaco,” he knows and reveals: “Generally, we had some damage to the car, which certainly wasn’t helpful.”
“Nevertheless, we expected to be a bit more competitive. So we need to examine everything closely and find out to what extent that affected us and where the performance went,” says Hülkenberg.
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“Both cars had consistently stayed in the top 10 throughout all practice sessions, so today’s result is all the more disappointing,” McNish says, annoyed. Because it is clear to everyone involved that the starting position for the race is now anything but optimal.
While Audi looked like a sure points contender until the start of qualifying, after qualifying, much suggests that a second top-10 finish this season will not happen in Monaco either.
Bortoleto scored Audi’s only two points this year, finishing ninth at the season opener in Melbourne. That was almost three months ago.
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