Audi continues to gather experience with its own power unit in Bahrain: Where the difficulties lie and how the start went for Hülkenberg and Bortoleto
Audi is gathering further experience with its own power unit on the first two days of winter testing in Bahrain. After the team already had to contend with problems during the shakedown in Barcelona, not everything has gone smoothly in the desert either.
On the first day, Nico Hülkenberg had to park his R26 once, but still completed 73 laps in the end and subsequently spoke of a “productive start” to the test days. Audi completed the fourth-highest number of laps of all the teams, which is particularly important for the Ingolstadt-based company. Unlike Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull Powertrains, which each supply engines to several teams, Audi is a lone fighter. “It’s a fact that we are the only team using our drive unit,” emphasizes Hülkenberg.
“But I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily a disadvantage,” adds the German. “Having more data is probably always helpful, but I think that comes from history: Audi is in Formula 1 for the first time, and that’s where we are now. That’s our situation.”
Hülkenberg does not want to reveal the reason why he had to park his car early on the first day. “I just stopped briefly for a coffee and… waited a minute, then I drove on,” jokes the Audi driver.
Gabriel Bortoleto calm: “Everything is going as expected”
Teammate Gabriel Bortoleto completed 49 laps on the first day. The Brazilian struggled a little with the drivability of the R26, which is apparently also related to the drive unit, which causes instability when braking and downshifting.
“We are working hard to improve this,” says the Audi driver, referring to the lack of experience in engine development. “Everything is new now, we are doing it for the first time, and we are the only team with the Audi drive unit.”
“All the data we have comes directly from us on the track,” says Bortoleto, alluding to the fact that every kilometer covered during test drives is important. “There is still a lot to do, especially in terms of handling, but we are working hard to get everything under control—and, on the whole, everything is going as expected.”
