Audi issue dampener following bright F1 run

Audi racing director Allan McNish has dampened rising enthusiasm surrounding the team by issuing a realistic perspective on its prospects for the remainder of the F1 season.

The German manufacturing giant entered F1 for the first time this year with natural expectations, recognising the time it would take to establish itself, albeit setting lofty goals as to where it saw itself in five years.

The team made a respectable start in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in which Gabriel Bortoleto finished ninth. The following seven races, however, were a string of near-misses as Nico Hulkenberg was 11th in China and Japan, and Bortoleto 11th in Monaco, Barcelona and Austria.

Bortoleto finally added to the team's tally with back-to-back eighths in Silverstone and Spa, before Hulkenberg broke his points duck with ninth in Hungary and eighth in the Dutch GP.

The run of four points-scoring finishes has propelled Audi up to eighth in the constructors' standings, just five points behind Haas in seventh, with every position vital in the hunt for prize money.

McNish, however, feels Audi's recent run is likely to come to an end at the next race in Italy, at the high-speed, low-downforce circuit of Monza, whilst other circuits are also likely to prove equally as problematic.

Despite Bortoleto's performances at similar high-speed venues of Silverstone and Spa, assessing how Audi could fare at the Italian Grand Prix, McNish, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, said: "There are two parts to this.

"One is that we are going to have, I would say, races where we don't score points. We've had a very good run. Let's be very frank about it, and we've been able to grab them when we could.

"After lap one [at Zandvoort], I didn't necessarily think we were going to be in this position [Hulkenberg's eighth], but we take it when we can.

"Monza, that could be one of the more difficult ones for us, in the same way that Silverstone and Spa were, especially Spa. From a pure pace point of view, it is a little bit tougher.

"But Monza is quite a unique track anyway, and so, therefore, we've got to be quite understanding that it's not going to be this discussion [on scoring points] every single race, and as a team, we've got to be able to deal with that.

"That comes back to the point of making sure that we do whatever we do correctly, so that if an opportunity does come, then we can take advantage of a virtual safety car, a safety car, whatever it may be."

Although happy to have scored at Zandvoort, reiterating his earlier point, McNish said: "Races are coming up where we won't be in the points. It's very unlikely.

"I hope we are, but it's not going to be every single one to the end of the year."