Nico Hulkenberg believes midfield battle is on a ‘knife’s edge’ as Audi target Haas in Mexico

Nico Hulkenberg believes Audi must be “flawless” to capitalise on opportunities in the tightly contested midfield battle this weekend in Mexico, while team mate Gabriel Bortoleto remains confident the squad can close the gap to Haas in the teams’ standings.

Audi head into the Mexico City Grand Prix looking to turn their recent competitiveness into valuable points, having narrowly missed out on the top 10 at the United States Grand Prix last weekend.

Hulkenberg recovered to finish 11th in Austin after an anti-stall issue at the start cost him several positions, while team mate Bortoleto climbed to 13th from the back of the grid following penalties for taking on new power unit components.

With Audi sitting eighth in the teams’ standings, seven points behind Haas, both drivers believe there are opportunities to make further progress in the remaining five rounds of the season.

Speaking on Thursday’s media day in Mexico, Hulkenberg acknowledged that the increasingly competitive midfield leaves little room for error, with the German having finished 11th in three of the last four Grands Prix.

“I think we’re in striking distance, but we need to be flawless,” he said. “We need to be very clean, us drivers on the driving side and the team on the operational side, to really get those results.

“Otherwise, we’ll just be missing out. It’s really on a knife’s edge, usually with the Racing Bulls and the Alpines. So we go down to the wire, but it’s all to play for. The competition is high, and we’re ready for what’s to come.

“There is more on the table. Every weekend there are opportunities, and it’s our job to grab them and capitalise on them. I think our package is competitive, but we need to be clean and make no mistakes. The car needs to hold up… But if we stay clean, I think we’re in the fight for points.”

Bortoleto was similarly encouraged by Audi’s recent performance at the Circuit of The Americas, having shown top-10 pace throughout much of the weekend before his grid penalty left him facing an uphill battle on Sunday.

“Austin was very positive. Since FP1, I felt amazing with the car. We were inside the top 10 for most of the sessions,” said the Brazilian driver.

“We were super competitive. I felt so good when I finished that lap in Q1… At the same time, you leave the weekend believing there was an opportunity to be in the points, which we didn’t manage to achieve because of where I was starting. But it’s part of the game. We had to take the penalty, and now we move on. No penalty here, so hopefully I can have a good race.

“I’m looking forward to racing here. Last year, it gave me one point, so it’s a good track. Obviously, the long straights for us are a little bit of a pain, but we’re going to give our best. We’ll try to put in a good lap in Qualifying, have good pace in the race and hopefully deliver some points.

When asked about catching Haas in the Constructors’ Championship, Bortoleto added: “We have five races to go, and we have good pace in most of these races. I think at some of them we may struggle a little bit more or less than at others, but I really believe we can achieve that.”