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The Audi Revolut F1 Team has added another top 10 finish to its debut year tally, with Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto again finishing in eighth position at the Belgium Grand Prix. At one of the most iconic tracks on the Formula 1 calendar, Bortoleto backed up good speed throughout practicing and qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps to again finish in the points – duplicating his result the week before at Silverstone.

"To come away from Spa with another points finish is a fantastic result for the team, especially at a circuit we didn't expect to suit our car,” Racing Director, Allan McNish said at the end of another successful weekend.

“Gabriel delivered an excellent drive from start to finish, and everyone executed when it mattered most. A special mention has to go to the pit crew. A 2.1-second stop for Gabriel, followed immediately by a 2.7-second double stack for Nico, was a sensational piece of execution under pressure. Those stops put Gabriel ahead of the Racing Bulls at a crucial moment, and from there he managed the race brilliantly to secure another eighth-place finish.”

“These consecutive points finishes are a huge boost for all of us,” an ecstatic Bortoleto said of the result.

“It's a great feeling to know we are in the position to deliver results like this and keep fighting in the top ten now. That's where we want to be, and where we belong, and we'll keep pushing to get more – starting from Budapest in a week's time, to wrap up the first part of the season on a high.”

But again it was not all plain sailing for the team, with German driver, Nico Hulkenberg, again suffering some hydraulic issues in practice and ultimately starting further back on the grid than his teammate. That put him under more pressure from the start, having to fight his way through traffic to improve position. A finish in 13th didn’t reflect the pace he had shown though and again the indicators are there that a better result is only a matter of time.

“Nico's afternoon was more challenging. We were able to gain track position through strategy, but we simply didn't have the straight-line performance needed to attack or make further progress,” McNish said.

“That was frustrating because his pace was comparable to Gabriel's, but he didn't have the tools to fight the cars around him.

"Overall, we'll gladly take the points and the positives from this weekend. Leaving Spa with another top-eight finish and another strong team performance gives us good momentum heading into Budapest next weekend.”

The teams now look to Budapest next weekend (July 24-26) for the running of the Hungarian Grand Prix at the famed Hungaroring circuit – the last race before the summer break. Racing in second part of the season resumes a month later (21-23 August) at Zandvoort, for the Dutch Grand Prix.