Audi’s F1 pace is hiding a bigger problem after nightmare Miami weekend

In Audi’s first race as a Formula 1 constructor and power unit supplier, Gabriel Bortoleto finished in the points. At the same time, Nico Hulkenberg never made it to the start line.

That juxtaposition is perhaps the best snapshot of Audi’s season in microcosm. A team that does have pace, perhaps more than expected for a new PU supplier, but one that is also dealing with reliability issues all over the car.

Audi’s promising start hampered by reliability ‘chaos’

In three of the four F1 races so far this season, an Audi car has retired due to a mechanical fault. In Australia, a liquid leak which caused a fire prevented Hulkenberg from reaching the grid. In China, a hydraulics issue retired Bortoleto. In Miami, Hulkenberg was out after seven laps due to overheating.

Audi is not alone in having issues but most concerning for the German team is that it is happening in multiple areas of the car.

“I don’t think we had a single issue that was similar,” Bortoleto said after the latest race in Miami. “I think we had many, if I’m very honest this weekend, but we haven’t had one that was the same.

“First weekend of the year for me, I had zero problems, and then you go to the second week and you have three, and then you go and you have zero again. And it keeps going like this until I think everyone gets mature with the new regulations.”

Bortoleto is right in that every team is getting familiar with the new regulations but Audi’s challenge is bigger than most.

Just two of the 22 cars on the grid run with an Audi engine. That is half of what fellow new PU supplier Red Bull Powertrains has, a third of what Ferrari has and a quarter of Mercedes. Only Honda has as few but the Japanese company has a far longer history of making power units, even if Aston Martin’s current form does not suggest that.

The problem is that Audi is learning at a much slower rate than its competitors.

“They’re the only team running Audi power units,” said Jolyon Palmer on F1 TV. “So, they’ve got no learning from anyone else. Even from the shakedown, if they’re not on track, they’re not learning from anyone else.

“Mercedes have got teams. Ferrari have got multiple teams. Red Bull have got two teams. Audi and Aston Martin are struggling a little bit in those stakes. So, they’re just behind on the curve. They’re doing an OK job overall, but they are going to have these teething issues that will take longer to iron out because of it.”

At least from Audi’s perspective, they have an unreliable quick car compared to the unreliable slow car Aston is currently trying to fix. Their only points finish came in Australia but the team has had one car in Q3 at every race this season.

The potential is there then but it is a question of can Audi learn about the car at a quick enough rate to catch up to its competitors?

“Obviously you don’t want them, that’s for sure,” Allan McNish, Audi’s recently appointed Racing Director, said. “But I think if you look, a lot of PU manufacturers are having some issues. It’s not just sitting on us.

“I think there are a lot of areas that everybody’s trying to manage and control and also learn about. Certainly from us, we learn about a lot more than some of the others, because they are already in the system, understanding 75% of it.

“Definitely, we need to tidy up those. There’s no question about it.

“Everything’s complicated. I’m not saying that the rules should be simple. I don’t believe that at all, but it’s getting on top of all areas of it, and we have to.

“I think we’ve all been here quite a little bit of time. It’s not exactly an easy environment. It’s a super competitive environment. Everybody is competitive and punching. So in that respect, I think you know it’s not completely unexpected that we don’t get everything right straight away.”

Even when the car does make it to the finish line, it is not without complications. The turbo, which is believed to be the largest on the grid, produces plenty of power but has left them vulnerable at race starts. A filming day at Monza saw plenty of practice starts but team principal Mattia Binotto was confident it was the procedures hampering them rather than solely the hardware.

“As far as the filming day, filming was the main purpose of the filming day,” he replied when asked by PlanetF1.com about starts. “No smiles, that’s true. And yes, we took the opportunity of making some starts.

“If I look at the start we made in Japan, for example, a lot of wheelspin, both cars. So, drivers somehow in terms of procedures not applying the right procedures in the start.

“But the reason why both drivers made the mistake is because our calibrations, our tunings, our software and strategies are so green at the moment, changing race by race, because really as a brand-new manufacturer, again, the reliability, control software, it’s a continuous development that they never had the chance to have a stable system where they can practice in a stable system.

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“So, I think in that respect, the more they practice, the more it will be important to them to have a standard start at least, I would say.

“I don’t think that our start will ever be great with the current hardware we’ve got, but certainly not maybe qualifying Q3 and finally finishing P19 at the first lap. There is a lot of room for improvement.”

Another team may be afforded some leeway in making that improvement but it is important to stress the pressure placed on Audi from Germany and the first four races have been labelled as “chaos” by some media outlets in the country.

Binotto’s tone though is a positive one and if you asked any of the 11 team principals, they would likely prefer a quick car with reliability issues over a slow but consistent one.

“Back on the chassis, I don’t know where it stays overall in terms of positioning, but I’m happy because there are no fundamental issues with the chassis itself or the aero,” Binotto said. “The car is behaving as expected. The car is behaving well, correlated to the wind tunnel and the simulator, which is the main base when you need to develop a car.

“We do not have overweight problems, which is lucky for us as well for what was our team in the past, and that’s something that puts us in the right position to develop the car furthermore.

“So, I’m pleased to see what we’ve developed on the chassis. As much on the engine, how I was stating that the gap is significant and most of the gap is in the power unit, but still I’m pleased with the way that the team is working and what has been achieved so far in our journey.”

There is no doubt potential with Audi, the question is can they catch up quickly enough in the fast-moving world of F1?

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