Gabriel Bortoleto highlights Audi hunt after Barcelona issues

Gabriel Bortoleto has highlighted Audi is carrying out secure measures to iron out any issues in the Barcelona shakedown before the pre-season test in Bahrain.

Bortoleto and Audi took to the track in Barcelona on Monday as it completed its first of three days of running this week.

However, its day was largely curtailed by an issue which forced Bortoleto to stop on the track, causing a red flag.

Bortoleto asserted Audi was expecting such teething issues with its new car ahead of its maiden F1 campaign.

“We were doing a pretty decent job in the morning, putting some laps on the board, testing some things,” Bortoleto said.

“We were going in the right direction. But as we all expect, this is a shakedown and everything can happen.

“We expected to find issues here and there in the car. We found a couple of problems that unfortunately put us out of the day, basically from the morning already. 

“So I didn't run much. But it was expected, this type of thing.”

Audi has joined the grid with its own power unit and aims to fight for a world championship by the 2030 campaign.

But with its F1 tenure in its early stages, its current focus is on establishing a strong base in preparation for the season-opening round in Australia.

“We are finding everything now to hopefully not find it in the next test or even in the in the first race of the year,” Bortoleto added.

“Overall, I would say, when we were running, it was positive.

“It was good to have a feel with the new car, the new regulations, the power unit and everything.

“So hopefully on the next day I'm driving, I can get a few more laps on board.”