Audi drivers flag heat-related power weakness ahead of Singapore

Audi’s drivers say heat is exposing a power-unit limitation ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix. Gabriel Bortoleto called heat the team’s biggest limitation in recent races; asked whether cooling was chiefly responsible, Nico Hülkenberg said he believed Audi was suffering from power.

In his Thursday media session, Hülkenberg said Malaysia had exposed Audi’s power-unit difficulties in hot conditions and that he expected a similar challenge in Singapore. Marina Bay is less power-sensitive on paper, he said, but his personal expectations for the weekend were not high.

On 8 October, the FIA declared a heat hazard for both the Singapore Sprint and Race after the Official Weather Service forecast that the heat index would exceed 31°C at some point during the Sprint or Race.

Bortoleto called what Audi had in its first F1 season a decent starting point, but said more steps were needed to improve drivability. Separately, he said the major upgrade package introduced in Baku had worked as expected after back-to-back tests in Malaysia. He described the gains this way: “Entry, mid, exit of all the corners, I think we made a good step everywhere.” That assessment concerned the upgrade package, not the separate heat-related power limitation.

Bortoleto said he believed Audi could fix the problem and urged patience. He pointed to the engineers in Neuburg, saying they had built the best engines in other series and that he had no doubt they could do the same in Formula 1. He said Audi should not be expected to arrive in Formula 1 in its first season with the best engine.