How did Audi's 2.1-second pit stop contribute to Bortoleto's points-scoring Spa result?

F1 Grand Prix, GP Belgium, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Audi continued its encouraging run of form at the Belgian Grand Prix, with Gabriel Bortoleto claiming eighth place for the second consecutive race after another composed drive, while Nico Hülkenberg narrowly missed out on the points in 13th.

Starting inside the top 10, Bortoleto made a clean getaway and remained in contention throughout the race. A well-timed pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car allowed him to jump both Racing Bulls drivers, and from there the Brazilian successfully resisted sustained pressure from Arvid Lindblad to secure another valuable points finish.

Bortoleto was delighted with both the result and the team's execution: "I'm extremely happy with today's result. I think we maximised everything we had this weekend, and that's down to an incredible effort from the whole team."

The Brazilian said the achievement was made even more special by the presence of Audi personnel from across the team's operations.

"To achieve this in front of our team members from our bases in Hinwil, Bicester and Neuburg makes it even more special: they've worked so hard to get us where we are, and it's great to share this moment with them."

Back-to-back points finishes have given Bortoleto confidence that Audi is establishing itself as a regular top-10 contender.

"These consecutive points finishes are a huge boost for all of us. It's a great feeling to know we are in the position to deliver results like this and keep fighting in the top ten now."

The Brazilian believes the team deserves to be battling in the points on a regular basis.

"That's where we want to be, and where we belong, and we'll keep pushing to get more – starting from Budapest in a week's time, to wrap up the first part of the season on a high."

For Hülkenberg, the afternoon proved more frustrating. After losing positions at the start, the experienced German spent much of the race fighting in the congested midfield and ultimately finished just over two seconds away from the final points-paying position.

"There was a lot of fighting in the midfield today, but we paid the price for starting too far back and also losing a few positions at the start, which made the race even more difficult."

He admitted recovering from that early setback was always going to be difficult. Despite missing the points, Hülkenberg took encouragement from Audi's race pace.

"From there, it was always going to be hard to recover. The encouraging part is that our race pace was competitive and we were right in the mix throughout."

While the Virtual Safety Car helped his strategy, he felt the neutralisation ended just too soon to maximise the benefit.

"The Virtual Safety Car gained us a few seconds, but it probably needed to last just a little longer."

Instead, he emerged directly behind rivals he was unable to overtake. Nevertheless, Hülkenberg believes there are positives to build on.

"Instead, I came out right behind Pierre [Gasly] and Liam [Lawson], got caught up in that battle and, with our lack of straight-line speed, it was difficult to make any further progress."

"The pace itself actually felt quite good by our standards, so that's something we'll take away, even if we need to review a few other areas."

The German was also quick to congratulate his team-mate. Looking ahead to Hungary, Hülkenberg hopes for a smoother weekend on his side of the garage.

"It's great to see Gabriel score points for the team. It's a well-deserved result and another positive outcome for everyone. Hopefully, we can build on that in Budapest, put together a clean weekend on my side of the garage and give ourselves the chance to fight further up the order."

Audi Racing Director Allan McNish described the weekend as another significant step forward for the team, claiming that "to come away from Spa with another points finish is a fantastic result for the team, especially at a circuit we didn't expect to suit our car."

He praised Bortoleto's execution throughout the race while McNish also highlighted the work of Audi's pit crew, whose rapid service proved decisive.

"Gabriel delivered an excellent drive from start to finish, and everyone executed when it mattered most. A special mention has to go to the pit crew.

"A 2.1-second stop for Gabriel, followed immediately by a 2.7-second double stack for Nico, was a sensational piece of execution under pressure."

He explained that those pit stops allowed Bortoleto to gain the track position that ultimately secured eighth place.

"Those stops put Gabriel ahead of the Racing Bulls at a crucial moment, and from there he managed the race brilliantly to secure another eighth-place finish."

"Nico's afternoon was more challenging. We were able to gain track position through strategy, but we simply didn't have the straight-line performance needed to attack or make further progress."

The Racing Director felt the result did not fully reflect Hülkenberg's performance: "That was frustrating because his pace was comparable to Gabriel's, but he didn't have the tools to fight the cars around him."

Even so, McNish believes Audi can leave Belgium satisfied with another competitive weekend. He concluded by stressing that the team is carrying valuable momentum into next weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

"Overall, we'll gladly take the points and the positives from this weekend. Leaving Spa with another top-eight finish and another strong team performance gives us good momentum heading into Budapest next weekend."