Sauber’s weekend unraveled early in Shanghai, with both cars spinning out and falling behind before the race even settled.
Sauber F1 had a rough outing in China, with both of its drivers spinning off on the opening lap. The team narrowly avoided finishing last, thanks only to a front wing issue on Yuki Tsunoda’s car.
Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto ended the race ahead of teammate Nico Hülkenberg and reflected on what turned out to be his first full Grand Prix:
“It’s frustrating — I’m not proud of what happened in Turn 1,” Bortoleto admitted. “I tried to pass Ollie, but I picked up too much rubber and lost control of the car. Luckily, I managed to stay out of trouble and finish the race. The pace wasn’t too bad compared to others, and I learned a lot about tire management.”
He added: “Even if I had stayed on track, it would have been tough to fight for better positions. Maybe I could’ve passed Doohan — hard to say. I would’ve liked to be more in the mix, but that’s racing.”
Hülkenberg also made a mistake early on, damaging his C45 in the gravel at Turn 3:
“It didn’t happen at the start — I lost the car coming out of Turn 3, ran wide, and ended up in the gravel. I dropped several places and damaged the floor, which meant we lost a lot of downforce and that made the rest of the race really tough,” he explained.
“It was pretty much game over from there. But even with the damage, the pace wasn’t terrible, and every lap counts right now. We’re still learning about this car, and there are some valuable takeaways from today.”
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Bortoleto Spins, Hülkenberg Struggles in Tough Sauber Debut
Bortoleto Spins, Hülkenberg Struggles in Tough Sauber Debut
