Bortoletto admits Dutch GP problems ran deeper than opening-lap spin

The Audi driver lost several positions after spinning his car in the early stages, escaping what could have been a much heavier accident. Bortoleto initially feared he would hit the wall, but the banking at the circuit helped him recover the car and complete a full 360-degree spin without making contact.

“I thought I was going to crash in that moment,” Bortoleto said. “But I think the banking obviously helps you to keep in the low side and I just managed to do a 360.”

The incident was particularly tricky because of the conditions. Although much of the circuit was suitable for slick tyres, Bortoleto described the corner where he spun as being effectively fully wet. He reacted after seeing a cloud of spray and smoke ahead, only to lose control himself.

The situation was made even more precarious by Nico Hülkenberg, who Bortoleto said he came close to hitting as he recovered from the spin.

Despite the dramatic opening, Bortoleto made clear that the bigger frustrations came from problems with the car that had been present before the race even began.

“There were a few things happening today that actually were there before the race even started,” he explained. “We knew it.”

Asked whether the team could have done anything differently, Bortoleto was clear that the problems could not simply have been fixed during the race weekend.

“No, nothing could have been done,” he said, praising the team for doing everything possible to address the issue.

Bortoleto was reluctant to go into detail about the precise nature of the limitation, describing it as a “bigger topic” rather than something that could be explained through a simple car-balance issue.

Importantly, he also stressed that the problem was specific to Zandvoort and was not a broader concern heading into the next races.

The focus now turns to analysing the data with the team and understanding exactly what went wrong. For Bortoleto, the opening-lap spin may have been the most visible mistake of the afternoon, but it was only one part of a much more complicated Dutch Grand Prix.