Gabriel Bortoleto says it was amazing to be able to go toe-to-toe with Nico Hulkenberg in F1 2025, especially in qualifying where they were tied 12-all.
It is not often that anyone can get close to Hulkenberg in qualifying trim. The German has been a solid figure on one lap pace off-late and has converted it into points as well in a lot of instances. For a rookie like Bortoleto, it was a hard task to go up against an experienced campaigner.
In the first half of F1 2025, he did go up against him. When Hulkenberg was having issues on one lap pace, the Brazilian made most of the situation to get the numbers on his side. Once the German got going by middle of the year towards the end, he showed his mettle.
Eventually, they were tied 12-all in qualifying trim across the 24 races, even though Hulkenberg managed to beat Bortoleto on standings side in the races. In fact, they were tied three-all in sprint qualifying results as well, which is a remarkable co-incidence.
For Bortoleto, it was a small win to be able to go toe-to-toe against Hulkenberg irrespective of the situation either of them found themselves in. “He definitely did a better job than what he was at the start of the season [in 2025],” said the Brazilian to the media.
“I remember he was leaving almost every Q1 and towards the end he was able to reach Q3s and Q2s constantly. I believe, yeah, there’s not much an excuse for it, but there were a couple of races in the last six races that for me were a bit out of my control completely, that I couldn’t really do much, yellow flag here or there or a situation that happened.
“Anyway, I don’t think they have been clean runs for many reasons. Some races from my side as well that I just didn’t do enough of a good job in qualifying. And I think in the summertime I was just nailing every single quali, every single quali, good laps and opponents and Q3s and I feel like I just want to get back in that rhythm.
“Obviously, there were new tracks also for me, so you put yourself in a situation that you’re also learning. But definitely, it has been a very enjoyable season in that sense against Nico, because it’s always enjoyable to be fighting so head-to-head like with Nico, because he has been rated by many in the paddock, as one of the best qualifiers in the seasons gone by.
“So when I came up in 2025, I was like, I’m going to have a difficult time with this guy. He’s an extremely quick guy. And then having this so comparable season with him has been amazing,” summed up Bortoleto.
Here’s Audi’s first run in F1 2026
Here’s latest from Audi on integration
