Audi CEO Gernot Döllner flew to Melbourne for just one day to see Gabriel Bortoleto score points in Audi’s Formula 1 debut.
If there were any doubts about Audi’s commitment to Formula 1, they have now been dispelled once and for all. Gernot Döllner, CEO of the Four Rings, made the rather unusual decision to fly to Melbourne for the season opener – knowing full well that he would spend more time on the plane than on the ground in Australia.
And it wasn’t even a trip in a private jet: Döllner used regular commercial flights to make the journey.
This decision marked a reversal of what he had suggested just a few months earlier. Last November, during a press conference alongside Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali and Formula 1 project leader Mattia Binotto, Döllner admitted that his schedule might prevent him from attending Audi’s first race.
“I have only one concern—that my calendar won’t allow me to be in Australia on March 8,” he said at the time—only to then fit the trip in at the last minute.
Döllner sees first Formula 1 points for Audi
Döllner did indeed have other important commitments during the week of the Formula 1 season opener, as he had to attend the Volkswagen Group’s supervisory board meeting on Friday. Nevertheless, he decided to make the long journey to Melbourne – perhaps also to demonstrate the brand’s determination for its new Formula 1 project.
This decision ultimately paid off. While only one of the Audis actually made it to the start—Nico Hülkenberg’s car broke down on the way to the starting grid—Gabriel Bortoleto not only finished the race for the new team, but crossed the finish line in ninth place, securing two points for Audi on its debut.
“I think we focused on ourselves over the winter,” said team boss Jonathan Wheatley after the finish in Melbourne. “We wanted to come here and deliver a clean race weekend. We had encouraging test drives and came here with a certain basic confidence in the car’s performance.“
”But if someone had told me at the beginning of the week that I could trade everything for ninth place in the race, I would have jumped at the chance. I think it was a very encouraging first race for the team, a historic moment: an Audi Formula 1 car scoring points in its very first race.“
”All in all, we can hold our heads high and say that this is a good start to our journey.”
After a marathon journey, straight to Ingolstadt
For the brand that entered Formula 1 amid what is arguably the greatest challenge ever faced by engine manufacturers, the result could hardly have been better – especially given the problems Honda is currently struggling with, despite having years of experience and facilities developed specifically for Formula 1.
It would have been overly optimistic for Döllner to fly to Australia just to celebrate the team’s first points – and yet he embarked on the journey knowing that he would be back on a plane to Germany on Sunday evening.
According to reports, Döllner was completely exhausted from the trip when he arrived and had even lost his voice. Nevertheless, he traveled straight on to Ingolstadt to talk to employees at the Audi plant about the importance of the Formula 1 program for the brand.
During the meeting, he also explained what had happened to Nico Hülkenberg’s car on the way to the starting grid and answered questions from the workforce about the team’s first race weekend.
The upcoming race weekend could prove just as important for Audi, as China is the manufacturer’s largest market.
