Audi: Gabriel Bortoleto confirms ADUO debut in Barcelona: “The goal was drivability, and I think it worked”
At the Red Bull Ring, one topic continues to dominate technical discussions: ADUO, the FIA system that allows manufacturers facing performance deficits to update their Power Units during the season. Audi was among the first teams to take advantage of the regulation, introducing its revised engine package at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
Speaking in Austria, Gabriel Bortoleto confirmed that the new ADUO specification had already been in use since Barcelona, while also explaining that the update was designed to improve drivability rather than deliver a noticeable increase in horsepower.
“We already had the ADUO update in Barcelona, but it wasn’t really about outright performance. The objective was to improve drivability because we were struggling with gear changes and similar issues. We’re still quite a long way behind with the engine, but the update helped a lot in terms of consistency and drivability. During a race it’s easy to lose the rear of the car if the engine delivers sudden spikes of power, and this update helped eliminate that.”
According to the Brazilian, significant performance gains remain a longer-term objective.
“I think that’s a long-term goal, perhaps for next year. This season we simply need to optimise the package we have today.”
Drivability improved, but not outright speed
After finishing tenth in FP2 at the Austrian Grand Prix, Gabriel Bortoleto offered a further assessment of Audi’s first ADUO update.
“It wasn’t a huge performance upgrade. Our main target was drivability, and I think it worked quite well. We’ve spent a lot of time improving the car’s drivability since the beginning of the season, and I believe the team has done an excellent job. There’s still a long way to go and a lot more to improve. I don’t think we’ve gained outright speed through this ADUO update, so hopefully in the future we’ll bring upgrades that actually increase performance in terms of pure speed. But one of our main objectives was drivability, and that has definitely improved.”
“It’s Audi’s first year as a Power Unit manufacturer”
While Audi continues to use ADUO to reduce the gap to the leading engine manufacturers, Gabriel Bortoleto believes the team’s chassis already provides a solid foundation.
Looking ahead to the Austrian Grand Prix, he admitted the Red Bull Ring presents a difficult challenge because of its unique combination of slow corners, high-speed sections and long straights.
“This circuit has a mixture of low-speed and high-speed corners, but also plenty of straights. I don’t have a clear answer yet about how competitive we’ll be, but I think we can be strong here and have the potential to do a good job, even if we may suffer a little on the straights.”
As Formula 1 continues adapting to its new generation of regulations, driver feedback has become increasingly valuable, particularly for manufacturers still developing both chassis and Power Unit simultaneously.
Gabriel Bortoleto explained how both he and Nico Hülkenberg contribute to Audi’s ongoing development programme.
“Aerodynamics are constantly improved in the wind tunnel, with development mainly limited by the budget cap. The Power Unit follows a completely different development cycle compared to, for example, introducing a new front wing. Regarding drivability, I can help by reporting if the engine doesn’t feel right under downshifts or if it produces unwanted oscillations. But when it comes to top speed or energy management, there’s very little a driver can do apart from keeping the throttle fully open. I have complete trust in the people back at the factory and in their long-term plans. This is Audi’s first year as a Power Unit manufacturer, so I never expected us to be the best immediately, but I’m confident we’ll get there in the long run.”
“Our starts are more of a Power Unit issue than a procedure issue”
Returning to the Red Bull Ring also brings back positive memories for Gabriel Bortoleto, who scored his first Formula 2 points at the Austrian circuit last season.
“We have great memories here as a team, and this is also where I took my first Formula 2 victory. I hope we’ll be competitive because this year we’ve consistently been fighting for points. Realistically, though, we’re struggling with our race starts. In Barcelona I started close to the points but dropped to the back of the field, and recovering from there isn’t easy.”
Asked about Audi’s recurring launch problems, Gabriel Bortoleto believes they are linked more closely to the Power Unit than to the starting procedure itself.
“I don’t think it’s just about the procedure. There are several things that still need to be optimised. I’m not an engineer, but I believe it’s a combination of factors. Other teams have developed their engines differently and simply have better starts than we do. Even if we optimised everything perfectly today, we still wouldn’t have the best starts. We need further development for next year.”
“I don’t expect the problem to disappear quickly”
Gabriel Bortoleto ended Friday’s second practice session in tenth place and remained encouraged by the overall feeling of the upgraded Audi package.
“I’m feeling confident. I think the car showed good potential today. I adapted quickly, so I’m optimistic for qualifying. Obviously there are still plenty of things we need to improve—both with the car and on my own side. We’ll work hard tonight and try to put everything together tomorrow.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, the Brazilian admitted that Audi’s biggest weakness is still likely to be its launches off the line.
“I think our main limitation during the race is still our starts. It’s something we’re struggling with, and I don’t expect it to be solved very quickly. What we can do is optimise the package we have today and make it slightly better. Normally our race pace is quite good, so for us it’s mainly about putting together a clean race. That’s our objective.”
Nico Hülkenberg encouraged by new upgrade package
Nico Hülkenberg, who finished eleventh in FP1 and seventh in FP2, also gave a positive initial assessment of Audi’s latest developments.
“It was a straightforward Friday without any major problems. We completed our planned programme, learned more about the tyres, worked on the car’s balance and focused on the usual areas we investigate during practice. Overall it was a solid day, and we’ll analyse everything overnight ahead of tomorrow.”
The experienced German also confirmed that Austria marked his first opportunity to evaluate Audi’s latest upgrade package.
“Today I tested the new upgrade package for the first time. It’s always difficult to compare one circuit with another, but my initial impression was positive. We gathered some useful information, and now our goal is to analyse the data in more detail and make further progress overnight.”
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