Audi breathe sigh of relief over 'Days of Thunder' scare

The Audi F1 camp has shared its reaction to the heart-stopping close call between its drivers on the opening lap of the Dutch Grand Prix.

The final corner at Zandvoort was saturated from a downpour that hit the track in the build-up to the race, creating a precarious situation for the drivers.

It caught out four-time champion Max Verstappen, who suffered a sizeable shunt into the wall just moments before Gabriel Bortoleto had a spin of his own.

The Brazilian created a cloud of smoke and blinded Nico Hulkenberg, who only just managed to avoid contact with his team-mate after he pulled to the left at the last second.

“It was very tricky,” Hulkenberg told media including RacingNews365. 

“I wasn't sure where he was going to go, if he was going to roll up or roll down. I was waiting, hesitating until the last moment.

“A good portion of luck not to hit each other there. But that was too close for comfort.”

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Bortoleto admitted his spin was partly caused by a reaction to seeing Verstappen lose control of his car ahead of him.

“It was a little bit of a reaction to what I've seen ahead, but I lost the car there, lost a few positions,” he said.

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

Bortoleto avoided making contact with the barrier and went on to finish the race in 13th, while Hulkenberg scored a season-best eighth.

Audi racing director Allan McNish likened the situation to something seen in oval racing, and dismissed Hulkenberg's suggestion that there was luck involved in avoiding a collision with Bortoleto.

“It was only on the replay where it was quite evident how close it was between our two cars,” McNish said.

“When I first saw Gabi spinning, and then Nico coming out the other side of it, I didn't quite realise that he had gone into the smoke. 

“It was a bit too much 'Days of Thunder' for my heart. But ultimately, both of them did a good job, Gabi, to keep it out of the wall. 

“In that situation and on a banking, anybody that's seen NASCAR or IndyCar knows that it's a skill.

“But at the same time, as well, for Nico to thread his way through it. From that perspective and that first lap, to be able to come away with points is very satisfying because that could quite easily be the other way.”