Bortoleto: It's a pity that I couldn't perform in the final.

      In the first qualifying session of the season in Melbourne, Gabriel Bortoleto reached the final but was unable to participate due to technical problems with the car. His Audi teammate Nico Hülkenberg set the eleventh fastest time.

      Gabriel Bortoleto (10th): "The qualifying session went well for the team. We can be proud that in the very first race weekend, the Audi team made it to the final. A huge amount of work was done over the winter to build the car and power unit from scratch.

      It's a shame that I couldn't compete in the final after making it through. We don't exactly know what caused the problem. Even in the middle of the lap, I started losing gears and couldn't return to the pit lane. The team will analyze what happened. From what we've already seen, this shouldn't be a serious issue, and I hope we can fix everything by tomorrow.

      The car showed good potential. I don't think many expected us to be fighting for top ten positions at such an early stage, so the start is promising.

      Right now, all attention is on tomorrow. Starting from tenth place opens up good opportunities, and I hope we can have a strong race and compete with the rivals starting ahead."

      Nico Hülkenberg (11th): "The qualifying session was quite intense. At the very beginning, I had to deal with a lot, so it took time to find my rhythm. In the end, I managed a good lap in the second session, which allowed me to secure eleventh place on the grid – a good result.

      In the cockpit, there's a lot to manage: controlling energy, monitoring tires and traffic, so you remain very focused throughout each lap. But the more laps we complete, the more we learn.

      Overall, it was a positive day for the team. The long run yesterday was impressive, and we have good starting positions. With the new cars, there are many unknowns, so we need to be prepared for everything tomorrow. We'll try to make the most of any opportunities."