Hülkenberg and Bortoleto aim to unlock more performance ahead of Saturday’s sessions
Audi F1 endured a mixed Sprint Qualifying session at Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit, with both cars eliminated in SQ2. Nico Hülkenberg secured 12th place, while Gabriel Bortoleto finished 14th.
Although the German manufacturer showed encouraging signs during the opening phase of qualifying, both drivers acknowledged that the team still lacks the performance needed to challenge for a place in the top 10.
With limited preparation time and ongoing setup challenges, Audi will now focus on analysing Friday’s data and identifying improvements ahead of Saturday’s Sprint and Grand Prix qualifying sessions.
Hülkenberg satisfied despite missing out on SQ3
Nico Hülkenberg remained relatively positive about his performance, despite failing to progress beyond SQ2.
The German driver highlighted a particularly strong opening qualifying segment before the team returned to a level of competitiveness he believes more accurately reflects Audi’s current position in the field.
His preparations were also compromised by a gearbox issue that restricted his running during the sole practice session.
“It was a decent Sprint Qualifying session. We put in a really strong performance in SQ1 and, although we were a little less competitive in SQ2, I think that reflects where we currently stand.
“Considering the limited running we had in practice following my gearbox issue, I’m reasonably satisfied with how the session went.”
Hülkenberg also expects the demanding conditions in Singapore to make the remainder of the weekend particularly challenging.
“It’s going to be a tough weekend. It’s hot, humid and physically demanding.
“We’ll take the lessons from today, see where we can make some improvements overnight and then focus on getting the maximum out of tomorrow’s Sprint.”
Bortoleto frustrated by costly mistake in final sector
On the other side of the garage, Gabriel Bortoleto finished two positions behind his teammate in 14th.
The Brazilian believed the extremely tight margins in SQ2 left little room for error, with a moment of instability during his final flying lap proving costly.
“Everything was very close in SQ2. I think my final lap was decent, but I left a little time in the last sector after a big slide at the penultimate corner.
“When the gaps between the cars are that small, it makes the difference.”
Beyond that incident, Bortoleto described a session in which the handling of his Audi changed considerably as the day progressed.
The Brazilian initially felt comfortable with the car during practice, but difficulties emerged towards the end of the session, affecting his confidence in the R26.
“Overall, it was an interesting day. We started practice well, but towards the end of the session we encountered a few issues and I wasn’t as happy with the car anymore.”
Those difficulties continued into the opening stages of Sprint Qualifying, although adjustments and a gradual improvement in confidence allowed him to recover some performance.
“At the beginning of qualifying, we were also behind the pace we had hoped for, but we managed to improve and I felt increasingly confident as the session went on.
“Even so, it wasn’t quite enough to reach SQ3.”
Audi still searching for the R26’s full potential
Despite the disappointing qualifying positions, Bortoleto does not believe Friday’s results represent the maximum performance available from Audi’s R26.
With the Singapore weekend still in its early stages, the team remains focused on understanding the car’s behaviour and refining its setup.
“We’re still only at the beginning of the weekend and we’re far from having everything optimised, so there’s still plenty of work to do.”
Both drivers will now look to build on the lessons learned from Friday, with Audi aiming to improve its competitiveness in Saturday’s Sprint before turning its attention to qualifying for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix.
