– After two consecutive top-10 results, Audi is looking forward to the Hungarian Grand Prix. Race Director Allan McNish is accordingly optimistic ahead of the last race of the first half of the season and emphasizes: “It is encouraging to see that the progress the team has made in recent races is also reflected in concrete results.”
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“Back-to-back results in the points are the reward for the work,” says McNish, “that is being done at all three locations. But they also motivate us to continue working hard.”
The Race Director therefore sees the race at the Hungaroring as another opportunity to build on this trend. The known performance deficit of the power unit is also likely to lead to significantly fewer problems on the “Monaco without guardrails” than on the Ardennes rollercoaster of Spa-Francorchamps.
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In direct wheel-to-wheel duels on the Kemmel Straight, Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto had little chance. Nevertheless, the R26 was quite convincing in terms of pace.
“We showed enough last weekend to demonstrate the potential [in the car],” explains Hülkenberg before the Hungarian Grand Prix. “Now the focus is on putting together a clean weekend.”
Exactly that was not possible for Hülkenberg in Belgium again. While teammate Gabriel Bortoleto was able to score points, the more experienced of the two Audi drivers already struggled with technical problems in qualifying. Starting position 13 made it difficult for Hülkenberg to place his R26 in the top 10 for the first time.
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Bortoleto, on the other hand, started the Grand Prix from eighth position and was able to finish the race in the same position. This makes the 21-year-old the only Audi driver so far who has been able to score points for the team with the four rings. In the Constructors’ World Championship, they are now only a single point behind Williams.
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“Scoring points in the last two races has given everyone a real boost,” says Bortoleto. “We want to build on that.”
After the dry spell in the first third of the season, Audi was recently able to keep up with the pace of the midfield competition. In qualifying at Spa, for example, Bortoleto managed to position himself ahead of Liam Lawson’s Racing Bull or the two Alpines.
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Since the Grand Prix of Barcelona-Catalonia, both Audi drivers have also benefited from an improved power unit. Although the engine’s performance remains a weak point, the PU now has significantly better drivability than at the beginning of the season.
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