Audi wary of 'critical' car element after Barcelona issues

Audi F1 boss Mattia Binotto asserted the team knows it is “critical” to get on top of its reliability concerns before the start of the season.

Audi has faced various challenges throughout the course of the week in Barcelona where the car was put through its initial paces.

It managed just 27 laps on Monday, but more laps were tallied on Thursday and Friday as the German manfuacturer rounded out the shakedown event.

Despite the issues it faced during the week, Binotto outlined valuable data was collected.

“First, it was emotional,” Binotto said. “It was the very first official testing for Audi in F1. 

“For us, it’s the beginning of our experience as a team, as a power unit manufacturer.

“I would sum up that there is a lot to learn, and we are learning a lot. If you look at the very first day, [there were] a lot of problems stopping us, slowing down our run plan, as well on day two.

“Finally I would say today, after day two afternoon, having some good running. There were some problems this morning, but still some mileage done, some laps done, valuable data for the team.”

The car will take to the track once again in two weeks at the Bahrain pre-season test.

Understanding that there is a lot of room for growth, Binotto suggested Audi's primary focus will be on sorting its reliability concerns.

“We are all very, very happy,” he declared. “We are all committed but we know as well that there is for us a lot to build, a lot to grow.

“The more we run the more we learn and I think we are really in that stage.

“We know for us there is a lot to build, a lot to grow. These three days of running have been very important. We are doing well for where we are in our journey.

“The reliability is always very critical. We had several problems – small ones, not dramatic -  but there are a lot of positives and we are looking forward.”