Sauber optimistic after Nico Hülkenberg’s fifth place in Spain
Sauber boss Jonathan Wheatley hopes that Nico Hülkenberg's fifth place at the Spanish Grand Prix will be a springboard to more success this season.
Nico Hülkenberg delivered a remarkable race after a difficult qualifying session in Barcelona.
An impressive race
From the start, he launched into a great comeback, taking full advantage of the new aerodynamic package brought by Sauber. Thanks to good race management and an opportunistic strategy, the German remained in contention for points.
The late intervention of the safety car boosted his chances. Nico Hülkenberg took advantage of it to fit new soft tires, dubbed the golden ticket, and overtook Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari at the restart to seize sixth place. He then gained an additional position thanks to a penalty imposed on Max Verstappen, finishing fifth.
Jonathan Wheatley, who took the reins of the team just a few months ago, reacted enthusiastically: “Today, we had a real race car in our hands. It’s the first time I’ve had this feeling since I arrived – and it’s truly fantastic.”
An incredible overtake
When asked about the moment he saw Nico Hülkenberg overtake Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari at the end of the race, he replied: « We overtook two Ferraris today! Both drivers. Honestly, it was a moment where you had to pinch yourself to believe it because it was solely thanks to pure pace. »
Thanks to this result, Sauber climbs to eighth place in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of Aston Martin and Alpine. The team has now quadrupled the total points it scored throughout the 2024 season.
« It’s huge, really », commented Jonathan Wheatley. « There is so much hard work and passion in this team. I hope this result will be part of the stepping stones I talked about, on our roadmap towards our goals. We want to build on this momentum. »
« We are still trying to understand the C45. We may not have delivered the performance when we thought we could, but this is a giant leap. It’s a pat on the back for everyone at the factory. All this analysis, all this work, all this creativity… everything is going in the right direction », he adds.
He tempers this by stating that the team will still have to wait a few races to draw solid conclusions. He nevertheless emphasizes that the Barcelona circuit is an excellent indicator.
« Since I’ve been coming here, since 1991, Barcelona has been a true performance test for a car. Generally, a car that performs well here does well on many other circuits as well. So I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season holds for us », he concludes.
