‘We definitely have a lot of work ahead’ – Hulkenberg rues ‘frustrating’ starts that cost Audi points

Nico Hulkenberg has revealed how his initial getaway in the Japanese Grand Prix compromised his chance to score points, with the German coming within a second of securing P10.

Hulkenberg, one of the six drivers without points from the first three rounds of the season, endured another challenging weekend at the Suzuka Circuit, which was Audi’s first race after Jonathan Wheatley left his role as Team Principal with immediate effect.

After qualifying in 13th place, Hulkenberg tumbled down the order on the opening lap and found himself as far back as 19th, leaving him with a considerable battle to take P11 at the chequered flag.

Asked how the start affected his race, he responded: “I don’t know, to be honest, the details of it. It was just a really poor start, which obviously is quite compromising for the rest of the race, being in quite heavy traffic.

“It’s difficult to make progress now still with these cars, with the whole Overtake Mode and energy. It’s been interesting and fun but also frustrating at times when you make a great move but then the next straight, you’re a sitting duck and you get repassed.”

Following the confirmation that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April, teams now have a break in which they can identify the areas they need to improve.

Hulkenberg confirmed that Audi have “plenty to work on”, before adding: “That’s why it’s valuable from that perspective that we got the Grand Prix in and got a lot of data and information. Like everyone, we’ll try to use the time as useful as possible, but we definitely have a lot of work ahead. Hopefully that time serves us well.”

Team mate Gabriel Bortoleto agreed that they have a number of obstacles to overcome before the next round in Miami, as he similarly lost out at the start of the race in Japan – after he qualified an eye-catching P9, the Brazilian driver settled for P13 by the end.

“I think the start was not great but we knew it was something we needed to work on in the team,” he explained. “For me and Nico, we have been struggling a lot since race one. We are working on it – the team is working hard on that.

“We just need time to put things in place. We still need to investigate some other things but I think the start was nothing compared to the other problems we had through the race. Let’s keep our heads down and go to the next one.”