Audi F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg believes that the German manufacturer\u2019s bold new car is fairly close to competing with the midfield teams as testing continues in Bahrain. Audi will officially enter Formula 1 this season as a works team following its acquisition of the former Sauber outfit.<\/p>\n
Audi grabbed attention on the opening day of its first Bahrain test by revealing a dramatically redesigned sidepod setup, which differs significantly from the version used during its initial shakedown in Barcelona. Despite ongoing issues, including a brief halt during Hulkenberg\u2019s session on Wednesday, the car has logged over 200 laps between Hulkenberg and teammate Gabriel Bortoleto so far.<\/p>\n
Speaking after Thursday\u2019s testing, Hulkenberg said the team has made substantial progress since Barcelona. He described the updated car as \u201ccompletely different\u201d and a definite step forward in terms of both performance and reliability, allowing the team to complete many laps.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that Bahrain\u2019s track is much more demanding than Barcelona\u2019s, with heavy braking zones, uneven surface, low grip, strong winds, and high temperatures \u2014 all conditions that tend to expose any car\u2019s weaknesses. Hulkenberg called Bahrain a \u201creally good test\u201d given its challenging nature.<\/p>\n
The Audi driver also emphasized that the team is continuously developing its power unit, experimenting with various settings in a methodical, step-by-step approach. Regarding the midfield competition, he feels Audi is not far off but acknowledged the difficulties in comparing lap times due to variables like energy modes and fuel loads.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll in all, there\u2019s still a long way to go and plenty of work ahead. I believe there\u2019s much more potential once things stabilize,\u201d Hulkenberg concluded.<\/p>\n
Fan Take:<\/strong> Audi\u2019s promising start shows their serious intent to become a competitive force in F1, which is exciting news for fans craving fresh rivalries and innovation. If they can close the gap to midfield teams swiftly, it could shake up the sport\u2019s dynamic and bring new energy to the grid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Audi F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg believes that the German manufacturer\u2019s bold new car is fairly close to competing with the midfield teams as testing continues in Bahrain. Audi will officially enter Formula 1 this season as a works team following its acquisition of the former Sauber outfit. Audi grabbed attention on the opening day of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[4983,8759,231,1049,3698,8804,19,4964,5238,117,1247],"class_list":{"0":"post-43009","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-racing","8":"tag-audi","9":"tag-bahrain","10":"tag-breakthrough","11":"tag-car","12":"tag-closer","13":"tag-cuttingedge","14":"tag-formula","15":"tag-inches","16":"tag-prototype","17":"tag-racing","18":"tag-unveils"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}