Audi just outside the top 10 in Miami Sprint qualifying: "We were very close to the goal"

The day had started badly for Audi. Free practice was disrupted—Gabriel Bortoleto notably losing half an hour of track time—in high heat conditions that made car setup particularly tricky at the Miami International Autodrome. But the team reacted well between sessions, and Sprint qualifying offered a much more reassuring picture. The Brazilian finished eleventh with a best time of 1:29.994, while Nico Hulkenberg is twelfth with a 1:30.019 — two results which place both men on the doorstep of SQ3, eliminated by a few hundredths of a second in a particularly tight midfield.

Sporting director Allan McNish sums up well the frustration mixed with optimism that reigns in the Audi camp: “Both drivers missed out on SQ3 by just a few hundredths of a second, which shows how small the gaps are. We went into this session knowing that if everything went right, we could be in the fight, and in the end, we were very close. While it's frustrating to miss out because of such tiny differences, it also highlights how tight the competition is and what we need to focus on to take the next step.”

Pilots caught between frustration and relative satisfaction

Gabriel Bortoleto, who had experienced the most disruptions in free practice, gives a nuanced but overall positive assessment of his day: “Obviously, I’m a little disappointed not to have made it into SQ3; it was close and I felt we had the potential today. The lap itself wasn’t too bad, but there were a few little details here and there that could have been managed better. At the same time, I’m happy because we had some difficulties in free practice and lost half an hour, so I’m glad to be going into Sprint Qualifying and be able to make further progress. I felt the car had taken a good step forward.” He thus highlights the progress made between practice and qualifying, a sign that the team had correctly identified its problems during the day.

His German teammate adopts a similar tone, already setting his sights on the race: “It wasn’t perfect, but I think we made the most of what we had to do today. There are still many races to go. Our race pace has been quite solid lately, so the goal now is to put everything in place at the crucial moment.” Driver number 27, with considerable experience in managing busy weekends, points out that Sprint qualifying is only part of the equation — and that Audi has shown encouraging race pace in recent weeks that could make the difference in Saturday's Sprint and Sunday's main race.

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