Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg voiced frustration after a chaotic, strategy-heavy Monaco Grand Prix left Sauber F1 without points.
Gabriel Bortoleto finished 14th in the Monaco Grand Prix despite a collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap. The Sauber F1 driver had pulled off a brilliant move around the outside, only to suffer what he described as an involuntary retaliation from his rival, who made a mistake.
“It’s a shame, I managed a nice overtake at the hairpin, it was good, I gained a position around the outside. I think he wasn’t happy about losing that place and tried a very optimistic move,” said Bortoleto, who detailed the incident and explained that he intends to speak with the Italian.
“He went straight on, and to avoid him I had to go into the wall. I destroyed my front wing, had to pit, and my race was over. It’s a pity because I think we could have tested some interesting things with strategy, but the race became boring afterwards with team orders everywhere.”
“He obviously didn’t want to put me into the wall, but he did it anyway. I’ll end up speaking to him, but I need to think it through, I don’t want to create any issues. We’re not fighting for podiums or wins, so I don’t see why he would try something like that. At the same time, we are racing on track. But there are limits to everything.”
Nico Hülkenberg couldn’t attempt anything to secure a strong result despite the two mandatory pit stops. “It was painful. There’s not much you can do, you’re just a passenger, you stay there driving slowly, overtaking is impossible. I’m not the only one, many guys were victims of that.”
Finishing 16th in what he described as a “monotonous” race, he doesn’t believe the fans enjoyed the artificial show. “I don’t think that was the spectacle, and it didn’t deliver the effect Formula 1 was hoping for with this race. It’ll be interesting to see and hear the feedback afterwards, what people have to say about it.”
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