Bortoleto satisfied with ‘smooth and clean’ top-10 finish on Friday in Monaco after early issues

Gabriel Bortoleto believes that Audi still have more to find after issues held him back during FP1 for the Monaco Grand Prix, but the Brazilian is pleased that he was still able to place among the top 10 drivers.

Sporting a new yellow-themed livery and race suits honouring 1930s racer Tazio Nuvolari, Audi delivered one of their strongest Fridays of the season so far as Bortoleto and his team mate Nico Hulkenberg finished both FP1 and FP2 at the front of the midfield.

The team were testing a handful of upgrades this weekend and finished as the first outfit behind the frontrunning Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren cars, with Hulkenberg leading the way in P7 and P8 across the sessions while Bortoleto claimed P9 twice after finding his rhythm.

“I think in P1 we faced a few issues, but still we managed to put the car in the top 10,” the 21-year-old said. “In P2 everything felt smooth and clean, and I built up through the session.

“I think the soft [tyre run] could have been a little bit smoother from my side; it took me a little bit to put a good lap time [in], on the traffic side and everything. But at the end I’m happy that we still managed to put an okay lap up there, understand a little bit our balance, our limitations, and work for tomorrow.

“There are a lot of things we can improve and be better [at]. A lot of work to be done… from my side, trying to put the car in a little bit better place. Even if we’re in a decent place already, there’s always a little bit we can improve.”

Despite multiple appearances in the front half of the field over the season, Audi have struggled to convert these into points and have failed to score since the opening round in Australia.

Racing Director Allan McNish is optimistic that their performance on Friday could change that if they can carry the momentum into Qualifying, which is especially crucial in Monaco where overtaking opportunities are limited.

He said: “We’ve always been competitive, I would say, in Qualifying trim – qualifying just on the edge of Q3 in every race so far, so I don’t think it’s a surprise to be honest with you.

“What’s very good for me is that both Nico and Gabi were able to do it on all sets of tyres, whether it be hard, medium or soft and that’s a confidence boost. Also, it’s just confirmation that we’ve got a good car underneath us.

“Both of them came out with a good bit of confidence in the car. They can lean on it, and around here it’s all about confidence in Qualifying trim – it’s about knowing how far you can go just on that one lap. Right now, they both have got that in the car.”