Audi
Nico Hulkenberg
“It wasn’t the smoothest race, but the main thing for me was finally getting a full distance under the belt after missing Melbourne. These cars are still pretty new territory - especially with the energy management - so every lap is useful right now. There’s a lot to unpack from today. We’ll go through everything next week, tidy a few things up and go again in Japan.”
Gabriel Bortoleto
“Unfortunately, a technical issue prevented us from even starting the race today. I still want to thank the team for having put in extra work until the very end to try and get me back on track – I really appreciate that. I think this race offered a lot of opportunities: many cars didn’t start or finish, so there was probably a chance for us to score points today. While this was obviously frustrating, it's something that can happen at the beginning of a new era of regulations.
“There are still some positives to take from these first two races: Melbourne was amazing and here in Shanghai, the weekend was going well up until the race; we were fighting for good positions and had decent pace. Now, with a week’s break before Japan, we'll be back in the factory working hard with the team and finding more performance in our car for the next race.”
Jonathan Wheatley -Team Principal
“Congratulations to Kimi Antonelli on a commanding performance to secure his first Grand Prix victory, which is a special moment for him.
“On our side, it was unfortunately a difficult day for Gabi. I would like to apologise on behalf of the team for the issue that resulted in him being unable to start the race. It must be extremely disappointing for him, and it is something we need to understand quickly and address as a team.
“Nico’s race was also challenging. We know that getting the car off the line is still an area we need to improve, and we lost several places at the start. From there, Nico drove a strong race and showed excellent pace and energy management. Unfortunately, a wheelgun failure resulted in a 16-second pitstop, which effectively took him out of contention for the points.
“There is a lot for us to review and improve as we head towards Japan. The team will regroup, learn from the weekend and focus on coming back stronger at the next race.”
