Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg react to Allan McNish’s appointment as Racing Director at Audi

Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg have been sharing their reactions to Allan McNish’s appointment as Racing Director at Audi, with Bortoleto voicing his belief that the Scot will do an “incredible job”.

Following the sudden departure of Jonathan Wheatley from the role of Team Principal in March, the Audi squad evaluated their leadership structure and opted to promote McNish, who has long been a part of the German manufacturer’s operations.

McNish – who competed in Formula 1 for Toyota during the 2002 season – went on to drive for Audi in endurance racing, twice winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the brand. He has since held leadership positions within the company, including acting as Team Principal of the Formula E squad.

More recently he headed up the new Driver Development Programme, a role he will continue to hold alongside the position of Racing Director at the F1 team.

Reflecting on the news during Thursday’s media day at the Miami Grand Prix – McNish’s first weekend in his new role – Bortoleto said: “Allan has been part of Audi for many, many years. He won Le Mans, he was part of the management team in Formula E, and now he’s in Formula 1 with us.

“He was the director of the Development Programme and still is, so I think he had many roles inside of this team and this is just one more for him. So I’m not even stressed about him fitting in. because he’s already been part of the family for much longer than I have, for example. I think he will do an incredible job.”

Asked if it is useful to have an ex-F1 driver as a sounding board, Bortoleto responded: “Absolutely. There are no doubts about what he achieved in his career – he’s one of the legends of the sport and legends of Audi, so it’s good to have him as Racing Director in the team.

“Let’s see how it goes, but I’m very excited about it.”

Hulkenberg also spoke positively about the wealth of experience that McNish can bring to the team in his position as Racing Director.

“Allan’s been with the brand, with Audi, for… I don’t know how long, but a very long time,” the German explained. “He’s been with us inside the F1 project and team from the beginning, from the get-go.

“Obviously he’s an ex-driver, even [with] F1 experience, a lot of F1 and motorsport experience. So it’s a very fitting role, and I look forward to working with him closely together.”

Audi arrive into the weekend in P8 of the Teams’ Championship, having scored two points so far.