Nico Hülkenberg nevertheless experienced a first scare right at the start when his teammate lost control of his car in front of him, but the German managed to narrowly avoid the Brazilian’s car.
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For the fourth consecutive race, the German team scored points thanks to Nico Hülkenberg, a solid eighth at the Dutch Grand Prix.
An important performance in the midfield battle, even if Gabriel Bortoleto had a much more difficult race.
Nice reflex!
Once again the best of the rest behind the representatives of the top teams, Hülkenberg experienced a first scare right at the start when his teammate lost control of his car in front of him.
The German managed to narrowly avoid the Brazilian’s car: “Yes, it was scary, a very delicate situation. You are somewhat an involuntary spectator, you try to react as late as possible, then you choose a side purely by instinct. I was obviously waiting to see if he would slide up or down the track, which was wet. It’s a perilous and difficult situation, but fortunately, we managed to avoid the collision.”
Once this incident was avoided, Hülkenberg was able to focus on his comeback. Opposed notably to the Racing Bulls and Pierre Gasly, he showed a particularly convincing pace after the restart to finally secure eighth place.
A boost for the team’s morale
These four new points are precious for Audi, which is gradually trying to catch up with Alpine and Racing Bulls in the championship: “It’s very important for us, for the team and for the championship, even if we are a bit far behind. Climbing little by little on them and why not overtaking them, that would be great.”
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Beyond the standings, Hülkenberg emphasizes the importance of this series of results for the team’s confidence: “It’s also beneficial for morale: it boosts everyone and confirms that the work done is going in the right direction.”
The German is all the more satisfied as his weekend start had not been particularly easy: “So I am very, very satisfied. Personally too, it wasn’t the easiest weekend, between yesterday and Friday, so it’s really nice to leave with a positive result and finish on a good note.”
Bortoleto mentions several problems
Gabriel Bortoleto had a much more eventful race. The Brazilian thinks that Max Verstappen’s off-track moment in front of him may have caused a reflex that led him to lose control of his Audi: “I just saw a big cloud of smoke,” he says. “It’s Max who had an accident, and I may have had a small reflex with the steering wheel. But I felt something and ended up losing control of the car. I spun before restarting.”
Bortoleto finally finished 13th, but also revealed having encountered other technical difficulties that he did not want to detail: “I don’t want to go into too much detail on the subject, because I don’t know if I’m allowed to talk about it or not. But we just have to understand what happened today, and we will move on.”
The Brazilian almost couldn’t start the race: “I had some issues at the start today that almost prevented me from leaving my spot on the grid, but I salute the team’s work. They did everything to make it possible and to fix everything.”
Despite his personal disappointment, Bortoleto therefore retains the points scored by his teammate. With four consecutive Grand Prix finishes in the top 10, Audi confirms above all a positive momentum and is gradually closing in on its main championship rivals.
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