Gabriel Bortoleto Reveals Audi Delay Triggered By F1 Test Issues

Gabriel Bortoleto has confirmed that Audi was forced to end its first official day of testing its new Formula 1 car and power unit early.

Issues discovered during the morning running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya meant that the Brazilian driver, who impressed across his rookie season in F1 last term, was unable to rack up substantial running across the eight allocated hours.

Teams are at the Spanish circuit for five days this week, though they can only run on any three of those five days, for the first pre-season test of a new regulatory era in the sport, with power unit, chassis and aerodynamic rule changes leaving an engineering mountain for all 11 outfits to climb.

Behind the testing curtain

Given the technical challenge, the test is being held behind closed doors, with heavy security guarding the circuit to prevent eavesdropping. Teams are limiting social media output from the test, with vague information being drip-fed to the outside.

Live-timing was shut down early in the day, meaning there is no way to gauge times at the end of the day - or indeed the week. However, speaking at the end of the day, Bortoleto explained: "It was a short day.

"We were doing a pretty decent job in the morning, putting some laps on the board and testing some things. We were going in the right direction. But as we all expect, this is a shakedown, anything can happen and we expect to find issues in the car.

"We found a couple of problems that put us out of the day, so I didn't run much today but it was expected. We are finding everything now to hopefully not find it in the next tests or even in the first race of the year."

Pressed on what the issue was, Bortoleto was hesitant to reveal the specific problem but added, "It was a precaution, we decided not run until we could put the car on track and have a clear run."

Audi makes its F1 debut this season as one of two new teams, alongside Cadillac, having taken over the former Sauber outfit.

Along with Honda and Red Bull-Ford, the German marque is entering as an engine manufacturer as well, though it has no prior F1 experience to lean on, unlike its rivals.

"Overall when we were running it was positive," explained Bortoleto. "Good to have the feel of the new car, the power unit, new regulations and everything so hopefully on the next day I am driving, I can get a few more laps onboard.

"There was a lot of learning from the laps I completed. There are a lot of things we have to do better, we are a new team as well, building our own power unit. So there are a lot of places we need to make a step here and there.

"But I am very excited by that, it is incredible being a part of this new journey."

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