Bortoleto shrugs off Audi reliability questions: 'Positive winter test'

10:11, 01 Feb

byOlly Darcy

Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto remained very optimistic after his team's first winter test of 2026, despite there being some reliability issues.

"It's been very positive to understand our car a little bit better and put some mileage on the car and the power unit."

- Gabriel Bortoleto

The German team will enter the pinnacle of motorsport for the first time in their history, becoming a works team after they replaced Sauber for the 2026 season.

However, during the first winter test of the campaign, the RS26 stopped on track twice, giving both Bortoleto and teammate Nico Hulkenberg limited running and some potential reliability concerns.

However, despite this issues plaguing Audi, the Brazilian was encouraged by the week that was had at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Gabriel Bortoleto and teammate Nico Hulkenberg - Photo: Audi Revolut F1 Team Content Hub

"It was positive, I would say," an upbeat Bortoleto started by saying.

"We lost a few hours at the beginning of the day with a few issues we had, but then as soon as we fixed them, we had a bunch of good laps, we put 50 laps on board.

"Obviously, it's not as much as I would like, but it's already a start for me, because on the first day, I didn't run anything. But it's been very positive to understand our car a little bit better and put some mileage on the car and the power unit."

Audi 'going in the right direction'

Following the week of testing in Barcelona, Mattia Binotto, head of Audi’s F1 project, echoed positive comments, saying there was "nothing dramatic" about the issues the German team came under.

Bortoleto continued on by saying how important the comoleted laps and collected data will be for the German team before the Australian Grand Prix gets the 2026 season underway.

"The shakedown is literally just to put the car on track and test if everything is running," continued the 21-year-old.

Audi's 2026 machine, the RS26 - Photo: Audi Revolut F1 Team Content Hub

"Obviously, we expect all these issues, the small issues that we had here and there, because that's what the shakedown is for. So I'm happy, the team is, I would say, happy that we have managed to do some laps in the morning.

"Nico also put some mileage on the car to improve a few topics that I am not going into right now, and we're going in the right direction."

Bahrain will play host to the next round of winter testing, taking place on February 11-13.

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