Nico Hulkenberg says pre-season it looked grim for Sauber to start F1 2025, but they have certainly now exceeded expectations what they had.
Hulkenberg had all the rights to think that it wouldn’t be a good year for Sauber to start the F1 2025 season after the 2024 the team had and how the pre-season was shaping up to be. They did pick up a seventh place finish in mixed conditions in Australia, but that was it for them.
For the next seven races, they scored nothing and languished at the bottom half alongside equally struggling Alpine. But things took a turn in Barcelona when Sauber introduced a package to fine tune its balance and downforce and they have not looked back since.
In the last six races, they have scored 45 points which includes the first-ever podium for Hulkenberg. To add to it, Gabriel Bortoleto has managed to score in multiple races as well. The German admits that it was trouble for Sauber in pre-season testing and things looked pretty grim.
The update in Barcelona and teamwork has changed things around. “Absolutely, if we look back our car in testing, we were in major trouble and things were looking very grim,” said Hulkenberg to media. “I mean it started off pretty difficult and then since Barcelona, we have been in points six times as a team, a couple of big highlights like Gabriel in Hungary, which was a stellar drive, fighting the Astons.
“Six times points and six very different tracks, so I think that’s testament to the good updates, the work that the team has put in, it is very encouraging. If I look back and reflect on it, I think it’s definitely more positive than anything else. Obviously, if you consider and look from winter testing where we started as I said, the first couple of races, then since Barcelona, six races consecutively in the points, podium, a couple of really strong drives and performances from us.
“So, I think the trend is right. It would have been nice to start there, but it became different. But definitely recently, I think we are heading in the right direction. But it remains the same thing in the midfield. There’s basically five teams that are very, very close to each other. And depending on the day, on the circuit, on the conditions, it swings around a bit, the momentum. We recharge now and hopefully we can continue after like this,” summed up Hulkenberg.
The upswing is certainly beyond expectations. It was exceeded Hulkenberg’s pre-season expectations. He came into Sauber thinking they may score here and there, but didn’t think they could be this consistent as they have been, which he hopes they can maintain in the second half.
He knows that there won’t be much from their immediate rivals and so, it gives him optimism to continue with its better run. Sauber is seventh in the standings after 14 races, only one point behind Aston Martin and 19 behind Williams in fifth. But the other side is only six points between them and eighth placed Visa Cash App RB and 10 between them and ninth placed Haas.
“I mean, maybe slightly in front of expectations,” said Hulkenberg. “But we were hoping or wanted to fight for points here and there. And that’s what we do. If the top teams put it together, that’s more or less the top eight positions. And there’s not so much left after that to fight for. Obviously, we had a couple of very positive outliers due to race circumstances and just good work and conditions.
“But yeah, otherwise not so different. I looked at our packages, what we have. I don’t think that we or many other teams are still developing much for this year. Because by now, I think the focus has shifted to next year because it’s so different. So, I think not much will change. Like I said, I think it’s more track-dependent, that it will influence that a bit,” summed up Hulkenberg.
Here’s Jonathan Wheatley on team work in Hungary
