Audi's upgrade package 'delivering as expected' – Binotto

Audi Team Principal Mattia Binotto believes the team's major upgrade package, introduced for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, is "delivering as expected" — and that the process itself may be as valuable as the lap-time gain.

Why it matters:

Audi sits eighth in the constructors' standings, just four points behind Haas. This upgrade is a critical correlation test for the team's development methodology, not just an immediate performance boost.

The details:

• The Hinwil squad submitted 14 aerodynamic upgrade items, including substantially changed front and rear wings, a revised floor, and a new engine cover.
• Only Gabriel Bortoleto ran the new package in FP1, allowing a direct comparison with Nico Hulkenberg's older-spec car.
• Bortoleto finished P10 in FP1 ahead of Hulkenberg, but the pair dropped to P14 and P15 in FP2.
• Binotto: "The package is delivering as expected... What's more important is to make sure that the team is developing in terms of methodologies and capacity."
• He added: "It doesn't matter how much it will deliver in terms of lap time. What matters most is having raised the challenge... and hopefully we'll have a correlation which is right compared to the wind tunnel and sim."

Bortoleto was less satisfied in FP2: "The car didn't feel amazing. We're lacking a little bit of grip, still to understand why."

What's next:

Audi will continue gathering correlation data through the weekend in Baku. If the package performs as expected on both cars, it could help the team close the gap to Haas in the midfield battle.