Bortoleto Crashes to P16 in Monaco Qualifying — F1 Live Timing

Gabriel Bortoleto’s f1 live timing session ended in Q1 at Monaco after he hit the barriers at the Nouvelle Chicane and stopped on track. The Audi driver was classified P16, wiping out the chance to turn Friday pace into a top-10 grid slot.

Bortoleto at Nouvelle Chicane

The 21-year-old made contact with the barriers in Q1 and left his R26 stranded at the Nouvelle Chicane. He later said there was no need to take that many risks in the session and admitted, “I think I’ve not done a good job in Quali – there is not really much I can say.”

Bortoleto added, “I think there was no need to take that many risks in Q1.” He also said, “We knew we were standing in top 10 pace since FP1. I ended up taking too many risks – I touched the wall and broke the suspension.”

Audi’s Friday pace

The crash came after Audi had looked like the best of the rest behind the leading four teams in Friday practice. Bortoleto ended FP3 in P7, while Nico Hulkenberg was P10, which made the loss of a clean qualifying lap more painful on a circuit where overtaking is tough.

Bortoleto said he was sorry not to give the team a top 10 result and added, “I’m sorry only for them because they have done an amazing job this weekend, and I understand that they fully deserved a top 10 in Quali and I was not able to deliver that for them.”

Hulkenberg to P13

Hulkenberg reached Q2 and finished P13, but he left qualifying “obviously disappointed.” He said, “I don’t know what happened,” and pointed to traffic on the last run as “definitely not the best timing for that,” before adding, “We’re just struggling to find more lap time or grip.”

For Audi, the day turned from promise into damage control. Monaco gives very few chances to recover after a mistake, and Bortoleto’s crash has left the team relying on a difficult race from a worse starting position than its practice speed suggested.