Sauber showed flashes of promise at Imola, with Hülkenberg near the points and Bortoleto hampered by strategy and safety car timing.
Nico Hülkenberg finished 12th in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, and the Sauber F1 driver was quite pleased to come so close to the points. He acknowledged that race circumstances played in his favor, but was satisfied with the strong pace shown.
“It was definitely one of the closest and most positive races this year. We were a bit lucky with the timing of the VSC, which gave us an advantage during the pit stop and put us in that position,” the German noted.
“Still, things were going well. The pace was fairly strong, the safety car bunched everyone up, and there were faster cars behind us that we couldn’t keep at bay.”
Hülkenberg is confident after Imola and praised the team’s progress: “It felt more positive this weekend, we were slightly more competitive, but the gaps are tight. Still, it’s encouraging.”
Bortoleto Frustrated Despite Strong Pace
Gabriel Bortoleto finished 18th and admitted to some frustration after starting ahead of his teammate: “It wasn’t the easiest race. Sometimes in racing you’re lucky, sometimes you’re not. Today, we weren’t — the VSC really cost us in the first part of the race.”
“We had good pace on the hard tyres, so I’m a bit frustrated. The rest is just a consequence of what happened; we’re not fighting at the front and with every position lost, you fall back. We could have made better use of our opportunities, so we’ll review everything to improve.”
Nevertheless, the Brazilian was pleased with his overall performance and weekend: “The pace on the hard tyres was good, we were able to be fast, but the result doesn’t reflect that because we were in the wrong place at the wrong time throughout the race. Still, it’s encouraging to see that.”
Sauber Reflects on Costly Strategy
Sauber experienced a weekend full of ups and downs, according to team principal Jonathan Wheatley.
“Mixed feelings after the race. After the safety car, Nico looked on course to score points. But it’s tough to keep a Red Bull behind, then the balance shifted and Nico ultimately finished 12th.”
“Gabi started 14th and we had high hopes for his race. Unfortunately, we were late to react to tyre degradation and had to switch to a two-stop strategy, a decision that cost us right to the end. We were also impacted by the choice to try the mediums after the safety car, but that tyre proved ineffective and we lost track positions, with Gabi finishing 18th.”
“We need to closely examine our internal processes and quickly learn from this ahead of Monaco and then Barcelona.”
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