Bortoleto and Hulkenberg pinpoint heat as Audi's biggest F1 power unit problem

Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg have both pointed to heat-related power loss as Audi’s most pressing limitation heading into the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay, after a difficult Malaysian Grand Prix exposed the same problem in similarly sweltering conditions.

Hulkenberg was candid during his Thursday media session, explaining that the climatic conditions in Southeast Asia are working against the Audi power unit. “Malaysia brought some new things to light and these climatic conditions are not so favourable for our PU at the moment,” the German said. “We definitely had some struggles on that side and obviously here it’s more of the same.”

The FIA has issued a heat hazard declaration for the Singapore Grand Prix, with temperatures forecast to reach 31 degrees Celsius or higher — the same conditions that troubled the team in Kuala Lumpur. Hulkenberg was asked whether the issue stems from cooling requirements forcing the team to open up bodywork and sacrifice aerodynamic performance, but he dismissed that explanation. “No, I think we suffer from power,” he said, indicating that the unit is losing outright performance in the heat rather than being compromised by cooling drag.

On paper, Marina Bay’s low-speed, stop-start layout should partially offset the power deficit Audi carries against the leading manufacturers. Hulkenberg acknowledged that advantage in theory but tempered expectations. “It is a less power-sensitive circuit on paper, for sure, but my personal expectations are not too high for the moment.”

Bortoleto echoed his team-mate’s diagnosis. “I would say that right now, especially in the last races, it’s our biggest limitation,” the Brazilian told reporters. He added that the team’s first-season package is “something decent” but that further steps are needed on drivability and heat management.

Despite the current struggles, Bortoleto expressed firm belief that Audi’s engineering base in Neuburg will resolve the issue over time. He pointed to the manufacturer’s dominant engine programmes in the DTM and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as evidence of what the team is capable of. “These people in Neuburg have built the best engines in other series that they have taken part in in the past, and I have no doubts they’re going to do the same in Formula 1,” he said. “We just need to give them time. We cannot believe that we would arrive in Formula 1 in the first year and build the best thing ever made.”

Audi, led by team principal Allan McNish, is in its debut Formula 1 season. The Singapore Grand Prix represents another immediate test of how much progress, if any, the manufacturer has made in managing the power unit’s sensitivity to extreme temperatures.