Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg have been sharing their reactions to Allan McNish\u2019s appointment as Racing Director at Audi, with Bortoleto voicing his belief that the Scot will do an \u201cincredible job\u201d.<\/p>\n
Following the sudden departure of Jonathan Wheatley<\/a> from the role of Team Principal in March, the Audi<\/a> squad evaluated their leadership structure and opted to promote McNish, who has long been a part of the German manufacturer\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n McNish \u2013 who competed in Formula 1 for Toyota during the 2002 season \u2013 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.<\/p>\n More recently he headed up the new Driver Development Programme<\/a>, a role he will continue to hold alongside the position of Racing Director<\/a> at the F1 team.<\/p>\n Reflecting on the news during Thursday\u2019s media day at the Miami Grand Prix<\/a> \u2013 McNish\u2019s first weekend in his new role \u2013 Bortoleto<\/a> said: \u201cAllan 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\u2019s in Formula 1 with us.<\/p>\n \u201cHe 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\u2019m not even stressed about him fitting in. because he\u2019s already been part of the family for much longer than I have, for example. I think he will do an incredible job.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if it is useful to have an ex-F1 driver as a sounding board, Bortoleto responded: \u201cAbsolutely. There are no doubts about what he achieved in his career \u2013 he\u2019s one of the legends of the sport and legends of Audi, so it\u2019s good to have him as Racing Director in the team.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s see how it goes, but I\u2019m very excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n