‘You could see a lot of tears in the eyes – Bortoleto on Audi team’s ‘emotional’ reaction to 2026 car

Gabriel Bortoleto has shared an insight into the “emotional” reaction of the Audi team when the squad’s 2026 car hit the track for the first time, with the Brazilian admitting that there were “a lot of tears in the eyes” – including his – during the shakedown.

Ahead of the outfit’s first year under the Audi name – following their transition from the former Kick Sauber team – the R26 was unveiled as part of an immersive launch event in Berlin on Tuesday, as Bortoleto joined team mate Nico Hulkenberg, Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley and Head of Audi F1 project Mattia Binotto to reveal the new challenger.

It marked the latest milestone in the team’s journey, with the car having made its maiden appearance on track for a shakedown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on January 9, two days after the squad confirmed their first successful fire-up.

When asked during the launch event to sum up his emotions about being one of Audi’s lead drivers, Bortoleto reflected: “It’s an amazing opportunity in my career. Obviously when I entered F1 I knew about the project and I was very involved in it.

“But finally to start it and be part of this – to be here today launching the car and head to the track in one week’s time – it’s going to be incredible. I’m very proud of the team for everything they have done so far. You know, hard work to put all of this together that we are making and the history we are also creating.”

In terms of how it felt to test the R26 just a few days into the New Year, Bortoleto summarised: “It was great. It was great to feel a little bit the new regulation car, the engine, the power unit style that is going to be quite different from last year.

“But honestly I’m looking forward to it and to testing it properly in a proper day – with proper days in Barcelona and Bahrain – test things, experience things and then extract all of it.”

The 21-year-old admitted that there is much excitement in the team and at the squad’s headquarters ahead of the new campaign, resulting in an emotional moment for many when the car hit the track for the first time.

“The mood is great, everyone is so excited about it,” said Bortoleto. “I feel like everyone has been working so, so hard that no one had time to stop and realise everything that has been built and everything we are doing.

“When we saw the car going out for the first time in the shakedown and everyone – you could see a lot of tears in the eyes because people were getting emotional about the project and what to expect of it. I was one of them if I’m honest! It’s just great.”

With new technical regulations coming into effect in 2026, Bortoleto is expecting a challenge but also believes that the rules reset will become second nature in time.

“It’s going to be more for sure in terms of we need to study a little bit more the new regulations and what to do on that,” he explained. “But at some point it’s going to get automatic as much as it was last year. I believe at the beginning everything will be new for everyone.

“We don’t really know how to manage this or that, but everyone will get used to it at some point and it will be just another regulation change.”

And when asked what would constitute a good year, the Audi driver responded: “I don’t want to put a result on it because I had the same question last year and I said exactly the same thing.

“I just want to see progress – progress with the team, I want to see us developing through the year, improving the car, improving ourselves as drivers as well. If we’re able to do this I’m sure the results will come as a consequence of this so I’m happy with that.”