Gabriel Bortoleto qualified an impressive 10th in Audi’s first ever F1 qualifying session at the 2026 Australian GP, but the Brazilian felt he could’ve achieved more if his car hadn’t failed late on in Q2, which prevented him from taking part in Q3.
Bortoleto’s R26 came to a halt in the pit entry, as he returned to his garage at the end of Q2. Critically, he hadn’t passed the pit entry line, and thus the team couldn’t push his car. Trackside marshalls helped to get his car pushed back into the fast lane, but by then it counted as outside assistance, and he could take no further part in the session, even if the team managed to fix the issue with his car.
Bortoleto “quite confident” that gearbox issue is no big problem
Speaking after the qualifying session for the 2026 F1 Australian GP, Bortoleto explained that it was possibly a “small” software issue that didn’t allow him to change gears in his Audi, but added that further investigation will have to be carried out to find the exact nature of the problem:
“The car just failed, it didn’t enter the gears anymore, it stopped. I had to come in, and I did about four or five turns with the clutch, trying to get to the pits. I couldn’t get there in time, I was a little short of a few meters.
“Just my gears were not coming in anymore,” he explained. “I lost a few things of my control in the car that I just couldn’t go anywhere else. It already happened during the week, but this time was quite bad.
“It’s a big disappointment, because, you know, when you come to such a good weekend, a qualifying that is going so well, you want to finish it.
“But I’m quite confident that it’s not a big problem. I’m sure it’s something small that needs to be programmed a bit better. Maybe, I don’t know. But I’m not too worried about it.”
Why Bortoleto thinks P8 was possible if the car held out in F1 Australian GP Q3
Despite the late issue, the Brazilian was very positive about the pace of his car, claiming he could’ve finished even higher up the order had he had the chance to participate in Q3, given Arvid Lindblad, who had a very strong session up until that point, had a somewhat messy Q3:
“Who would imagine that we,in our first Audi race [weekend], with our engine, everything done at home, to be in the Q3, I think it was unimaginable, really.
“It’s a shame [the issue happened], because I really think that entering Q3 is something very positive. I really wanted to try until P8, I think it was possible.
“With [Arvid] Lindblad,he didn’t do a very good lap [in Q3], I don’t know if he had a mistake. Maybe P9, P8, fighting with [Liam] Lawson.
“My lap in Q2 was a low 1m20, and Lindblad did a low 1m21. So definitely a P9 was possible. Maybe a P8.
“After that, we know that there are teams that are, at the moment, a little unattainable. But I think that until eighth place, it was possible to fight Racing Bulls.”
“Clear” potential for progress throughout the year
Audi’s positive start is a confidence boost for the team, as Bortoleto believes there are “clear” opportunities to make further progress and develop the car into a much more complete package than it is now:
“At least I didn’t expect that, to be in the Q3 today, for me it’s an achievement within the team. And there is so much that we still need to fix, which is quite clear in front of us, that I see a lot of progress still [to be made].”
The team, which took over Sauber’s F1 operation at the end of last year, had a good result that was backed up by a solid 11th place for Nico Hülkënberg in the other car, which further cemented their strong position, at least at the Australian GP, of fighthing for ‘best of the rest’ with Racing Bulls:
“Definitely, it’s a positive start, I would say, of the year. I wouldn’t expect us to be in the top ten already straight away and that’s a mega start.”
Bortoleto: Long runs looking “quite decent” ahead of Sunday’s F1 Australian GP
Audi was one of the teams that impressed in the final week of Bahrain testing last month, showing impressive race pace that yielded it a midfield leader status at the time.
Bortoleto believes that form has carried over into the Australian GP, and revealed he is “quite confident” that they have good pace in the Audi F1 R26, as he expects a “nice fight” with the cars ahead:
“I think our long runs normally have been quite decent,” he said. “Then we need to analyse what happened in the end of quali for me, because I hope it doesn’t happen tomorrow.
“But yeah, I’m quite confident for tomorrow.
“I don’t know [what to expect]. A nice race, a nice fight, hopefully, with the cars ahead. And I’ll give my best to deliver a good result for the team for our first race weekend.”
The Australian GP will mark the start of Bortoleto’s sophomore season in F1, and the proper start of Audi’s 2026 journey in the sport.
