Nico Hulkenberg says it was crucial to get in front of fighting pair of Franco Colpainto and Alexander Albon, which ensured points for Sauber in F1 Canadian GP.
It was decent qualifying for Sauber’s Hulkenberg in F1 Canadian GP. He initially didn’t make progress at the start but thanks to the fight between Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto, the German managed to get the inside line at Turn 8-9 and sneak past both of them to be ninth.
That set up the grand prix for him. He was in the fight against Fernando Alonso, but the Spaniard was a bit far up in the order to be caught. Hulkenberg was also aided by one stoppers like Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz, who became a bridge between him and his immediate rivals from the start.
The safety car helped his case in the second stop as he lost nothing against Ocon and Sainz. It was another points finish for him and Sauber after Barcelona high, which is crucial in the consturctors’ fight against Aston Martin, Haas, Visa Cash App RB and Alpine.
The updates seems to be delivering well to be in the midfield mix. “First lap was decent, it was more in my position but Franco and Alex were having a go at each other and they had a problem in Turn 8-9, went a bit deep, so I managed to get up there on the exit which I think was pretty handy,” said Hulkenberg to media.
“I think pretty key also for the race to just be ahead and manage my tyres from there on and just bring that one in. Obviously different, yeah, feels good, feels very positive and happy of course to continue that trend and carry the momentum into Canada and onwards from here. I think it is down to the performance and upgrades showing some good performance and promise in the race again, maybe more than quali, so yeah, it was a good clean race.
“It is positive I think from all the work from the last sixth months, it is kind of paying off a bit, you see it paying dividends which is obviously rewarding and very nice, how it should be, so we need to keep doing what we doing and in the meantime hopefully find a bit more performance in the next couple of weeks,” summed up Hulkenberg.
Here’s Lap 1 scene: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2025-canadian-grand-prix-russell-leads-as-antonelli-jumps-piastri-on-the-race-start.1835020304157438572
Here’s how F1 Canadian GP panned out
