Our first Qualifying is done.
The results from qualifying, on Audi Revolut F1® Team’s first qualifying of the year, give promise ahead of tomorrow’s race. Gabriel and Nico will aim to improve on their starting position as the team enters the battle for points for the first time.
The base for our performance.
Audi Revolut F1® Team claimed a spot in Q3 in its first qualifying session ever, as Gabriel Bortoleto fought to a spot in the top ten. While a technical issue prevented him from going on track in the final segment of the session, his Q2 heroics compounded a strong overall performance from the team, with Nico Hulkenberg setting the 11th fastest time in Q2.
R:1 Melbourne | Qualifying
GABRIEL BORTOLETO
P10
1:20.211
+1.693
R:1 Melbourne | Qualifying
NICO HULKENBERG
P11
1:20.311
+1.793
1 / 0
Gallery
First Qualifying done.
"It was a tremendously encouraging qualifying session for the team, …
and seeing Gabi reach Q3 at the very first race for the Audi Revolut F1 Team is a special moment for everyone involved.
Jonathan Wheatley
"It’s a strong reflection of the hard work that has gone into building this programme and getting us to this point. Unfortunately, we experienced a technical issue at the end of Gabi’s final run which prevented him from participating in Q3, and Nico also had a small problem that affected his last run in Q2.
Overall, this is a very positive start for the
team. It’s both encouraging in terms of performance, and a testament to the
collective effort of so many talented people across the organisation."
"Had to stay sharp out there - energy, tyres, traffic, everything going on at once. One proper lap in Q2 and we put it together."
"P11. Good spot to start and plenty to play for in the race."
Nico Hulkenberg
"It was quite a busy qualifying for us. We had a few things to manage early on, so it took a bit of time to really find a rhythm.
In the end I had one clean shot at a lap in Q2 and
managed to put it together well, which puts us P11 - a solid place to start
from.
There’s a lot going on in the cockpit with
energy management, tyres and traffic, so it keeps you fully focused
every lap, but we’re learning more each time we run.
Overall, it’s a positive day for the
team. The long runs yesterday felt encouraging and we’re in a
good position heading into the race. With these new cars there are still
plenty of unknowns, so tomorrow could be quite open and we’ll aim to
make the most of any opportunities.”
"P10 and into Q3 on our first weekend - something to be proud of. The car has real potential and the team delivered.
"Now it’s all eyes on race day!"
Gabriel Bortoleto
"Not the ending we wanted in quali, but nothing that changes our focus.
It has been a very positive qualifying
for the team. Being in the top ten in our first race weekend as Audi Revolut F1® Team is something we can all be proud of,
especially considering the amount of work that has gone in over the winter to
bring this car together and make it competitive, and to build a new power unit
from scratch.
Of course, it is frustrating not to be able to
take part in Q3 after making it through. "
Gabriel Bortoleto
"We do not yet know exactly what caused the issue at the end of qualifying: I started to lose gears in the middle of the lap and could not make it back to the pits, so it is something we will analyse with the team. From what we have seen so far, it does not look like a major problem and hopefully we can fix it for tomorrow.
The car has shown good potential.
I don't think many people expected us to be fighting for
a top-ten position so early, so it is a very encouraging
start. Now the focus is on tomorrow. Starting from P10 gives us a good
opportunity, and hopefully we can have a strong race and fight with the cars
ahead.”
