The atmosphere of the football World Cup permeated the drivers’ interviews at the press day of the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, scheduled for this Sunday at the Spielberg circuit. Brazil’s 3-0 victory over Scotland on Wednesday night generated a fun provocation from Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto to Audi’s racing director, Scotsman Allan McNish, a former F1 driver.
During a conversation in the Austrian paddock this Thursday, Bortoleto highlighted the excellent performance of the Brazilian team. He revealed that his first call of the day was directed to the Scottish boss, using the occasion as a joke, which demonstrates a relaxed and positive atmosphere within the team.
“The Brazilian team performed very well, achieving an excellent score of 3-0 against Scotland,” said Bortoleto. “Evidently, the first thing I did was call Allan (McNish) to tease him a little, as we Brazilians don’t miss the chance to make a joke. He even pretended that the internet was having problems”, reported the pilot with good humor.
The Austrian Grand Prix is an event awaited with particular enthusiasm by Gabriel Bortoleto, who obtained his first points in Formula 1 at the same route the previous year, finishing in eighth place for Sauber. This year, however, the Brazilian driver will not participate in the first free practice on Friday. F1 rules require teams to reserve four training sessions per season, two per car, for young talents with no experience in the category, and Audi will grant this opportunity to Paul Aron in Bortoleto’s car.
Although he recognizes the relevance of training, the Brazilian driver highlighted that his absence from the session does not impact his confidence in achieving an impressive result this Sunday. Strategic preparation for the main race remains unchanged, focusing on optimizing car performance.
“It is always desirable to have as much track time as possible, but Formula 1 requires two free practice sessions per year for rookie drivers,” explained Bortoleto. “As Audi doesn’t have a specific junior driver for this role, Paul (Aron) has taken over, performing well, like in Barcelona. He’s a competitor I’ve faced throughout my career, and it’s great to see him in my car. I hope he can perform well and understand what the car needs, as I’ll be entering FP2 and the more tuned the vehicle is, the better it will be for me.”
High temperatures were also a recurring topic in the Spielberg paddock this Thursday, with thermometers forecast to reach around 35°C over the weekend. For Gabriel Bortoleto, this weather condition could benefit Audi, as the team’s chassis appears to be efficient and capable of maintaining good tire grip even in intense heat scenarios, which is crucial for the race strategy.
“It is clear that the heat intensifies tire wear, but this situation could be advantageous for our team”, pondered the driver. “I believe Audi is well prepared in this regard, which allows us to capitalize and compete for points this weekend. We had a great performance here last year, when I got my first points with an eighth place, and Nico (Hulkenberg) also finished in the top-10, in ninth.”