Nico Hülkenberg (Audi): This is what needs to happen at Monza to score World Championship points

Scot Allan McNish (56) is rather sceptical about the classic Monza Grand Prix. The Audi sporting director notes: “This weekend, however, will present a different challenge for us, on a circuit layout that could make it difficult to continue the run of points we’ve achieved in recent races. Our focus will be on execution and on making the most of what we have.”

As a reminder: Audi has scored points in four consecutive races – Bortoleto finished eighth at Silverstone and in Belgium, followed by Hülkenberg in ninth at the Hungaroring and eighth at Zandvoort.

What does Nico Hülkenberg, who has competed in 261 Grand Prix races, have to say about Audi’s prospects at the Royal Park? The 39-year-old German in the paddock at the Monza circuit: “Well, Monza is a power and high-speed circuit. On paper, it’s not the best circuit for us. But we’ve already had a few surprises this season – we’ve turned up at circuits feeling rather sceptical, only for things to go much better than expected; but the reverse has also happened, where we haven’t performed as well as we’d hoped on circuits where we were expecting a good result.”

“I’m open to anything and will see how things go here from Friday onwards. I believe that if we, as a team, get everything right in terms of execution, then World Championship points are also possible at Monza.”

What sort of race does Nico expect at Monza? Will it be another back-and-forth affair like at Silverstone in particular, when drivers who’d been saving their energy suddenly overtook those who’d run out of steam? Hülki says: “It could well be, and above all, slipstreaming will be crucial in qualifying. We’ll see in the final practice session that some drivers are looking for a car in front of them, or that a team is trying to manage both drivers accordingly.”

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“We’ve generally managed to break the deadlock a bit – at last – because we’d already been performing at a respectable level, but there were often minor issues that prevented us from scoring points. We should now be in a position to finish in the top ten every weekend.”

“For example, we’ve made great progress with our starts; my two starts at Zandvoort were good. At the same time, it’s no secret that we need to make up ground when it comes to the power unit. But we’re constantly making progress; we’ve brought a new gearbox setup here, which should also be a step in the right direction.”

“The atmosphere in the team is excellent; everyone can sense that we’re on the way up. People mustn’t forget just how complex it is to build a modern power unit. Audi has laid a solid foundation in this regard, and now we’re building on it step by step.”