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That, right there, is the agony of modern motorsport. Audi walked away from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia with plenty of pace to dissect, but absolutely nothing to show for it in the points column after a wild Sunday afternoon that unraveled in the final moments.
Saturday had actually promised quite a bit. Gabriel Bortoleto put in a fine shift to reach Q3, lining up in P10 on the grid, while team mate Nico Hulkenberg had to settle for P15. But race day threw a curveball straight away: heavy rain delayed the start, leaving the track damp, and both Audis rolled the dice on soft tyres. It was a gamble that instantly backfired, forcing both drivers into early stops for intermediates just to salvage their afternoons.
From there, the races diverged into separate kinds of chaos. Bortoleto began fighting his way forward before colliding with the Williams of Carlos Sainz, an incident that earned the Brazilian a 10-second time penalty and car damage that effectively ended his competitiveness. Speaking afterward, Bortoleto was honest about the mistake, offering a clear apology to Carlos Sainz, his own crew, and the Williams squad before looking ahead to Singapore.
Hulkenberg, on the other hand, kept his nose clean and fought valiantly on the edge of the top ten. Sadly, it was a repeat of the heartbreak from Azerbaijan just one week prior, as the German was heartbreakingly mugged on the final lap by Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad, losing the last point-scoring position right at the checkered flag. To pile on the misery, the team also copped a fine for an unsafe release of Hulkenberg during a pit stop, though part of that penalty remains suspended for 12 months provided they keep it clean.
Despite missing out, Hulkenberg remained pragmatic about their pace, admitting that their current package meant points were only ever on the table thanks to trouble and retirements ahead of them. Racing Director Allan McNish echoed that balanced view, praising the underlying speed of the machine while conceding that getting beaten on the final lap for the second consecutive weekend was a bitter pill to swallow. Audi know where they are exposed, particularly when the Safety Car shakes things up, but they will pack up and take their upgrades straight to Singapore with heads held high.
