Nico Hulkenberg says nice to score unexpectedly in F1 Australian GP despite low performing car, as Gabriel Bortoleto doesn’t wish to cry over race-ending crash.
Sauber were not on the list to score points in the opening round of 2025 F1 season in Australian GP. The lack of pace was evident as noted by both Hulkenberg and Bortoleto. But the tricky conditions allowed for some solace after the German managed to score heavy points, finishing seventh.
In fact, Sauber already scored more in one round of 2025 than their whole season in 2024. Certainly, Hulkenberg felt nice to score when it was not expected. He credited the team for the correct strategy call and working well operationally – something that ailed them last year.
“Obviously, it’s nice to have that, especially when you don’t really expect it or when it doesn’t look like that on Saturday night,” said Hulkenberg to media. “It was obviously a very special race, special circumstances. The first half of the race didn’t look very good, to be honest, but obviously, then the race circumstances made our race.
“The team made a really good call on the strategy to pit off the slick, which ultimately made this possible. We owe it to this. Still, on the operational side, everything was good and clean, so that’s obviously positive. Car-wise, performance-wise, we definitely got work to do, but I think we knew that. It’s not really a surprise.
“It seemed like there was a decent step from Bahrain in terms of making the most of the car with a few tweaks. It was in a good and happier place. It’s obviously a very different circuit, much quicker, much more flowing, and the car seems to feel a bit happier in a track like this. That’s obviously one thing we learned.
“Having done all the whole weekend, there’s a lot of data to analyse too, process the race in couple of days,” summed up Hulkenberg, who noted the difficulties on a circuit with painted white lines. Despite knowing that it is there, it is still challenging to drive. He was also surprised that DRS was allowed so early when the track was still damp in places.
“Yes, it was a challenging race as they come in conditions like this, on a street circuit, with all the white road marks, which are largely painted with non-slip paint, but for us, the grip level is not the same as on tarmac,” continued Hulkenberg. “You get this inconsistency, which is very hard to deal with and can really catch you off guard, changing race and very intense race.
“I think it was okay, but it was definitely pushy. I think down from Turn 8 to 10, I sometimes couldn’t use it, because it’s too sketchy around there when it’s still damp. But at the end of the day, as a driver, we have a choice, we are not forced to use it.”
His teammate Bortoleto had a decent start and ran well for most part, even though he was outside points. But it didn’t end well after a crash just after Liam Lawson crashed out. It was when the rain started to fall again and drivers were pushing to switch onto the intermediate compound from dry tyres.
“Obviously not an easy start,” said Bortoleto. “I would say it was a good weekend overall for every learning we got there. Unfortunately, it didn’t finish as we expected. Luckily for the team, Nico scored some good points and I’m very happy for them. I’m sorry for my mistake there. I tried to recover a bit what we lost in the safety car.
“It was amazing. I mean, racing in the wet for me, I was looking forward because I needed this type of experience. At some point you need to drive in the wet to feel this type of cars and get more confident with it. I think when you get confident with the car in the wet, it’s much easier also in the dry because that’s the most tough conditions you have.
“I think I was doing quite a decent job so far. I was very close to Nico the whole race on inters and then we went to pit and then we double-stacked. I lost a lot of time there with the Safety Car as well, with the unsafe release. Things that can happen in a race. But the pace was good. I was looking good. I was feeling good with the car. I am looking forward to China now.
“We take some positives from this weekend. We learn from the negatives and heads up. It’s just the beginning of a long season,” summed up Bortoleto, as he noted how even experienced drivers had their moments in the grand prix where it was not just rookies. He isn’t proud for crashing out, but he is not going to cry over it that he binned it when trying.
“Not only the rookies crashed, obviously,” continued Bortoleto. “I’ve seen Ferraris spinning, I’ve seen McLarens spinning. Everyone. Unfortunately, I finished in the wall. When you spin, anything can happen. If I had one more metre of space of the wall, I would have done a 360 and go back to the race and happy days. But it didn’t happen.
“Conditions like this are always tough, especially when you don’t have the safe margin of I’m leading the race, I’m safe in the points. When you’re pushing everything you have and trying the limits. In conditions like this, the chance of mistakes happening are high. Obviously, I’m not proud of it.
“I’m not proud of making my mistakes. But it’s not that I’m going to be here crying for it. I prefer to crash than going around the track as a passenger and finishing last. I prefer to push the car to the limit and try my best,” summed up Bortoleto.
Here’s how F1 Australian GP panned out
