Nico Hulkenberg’s Ferrari overtake in Spain a ‘pinch yourself’ moment for Kick Sauber as they eye ‘springboard’ effect

He continued: “We’re trying to understand the C45. We maybe didn’t put the performance on the car at the stage that we thought we could early on, so this is just a massive step.

“It’s a massive pat on the back for everyone at the factory. All that analysis, all that hard work that’s going, all the creativity, it’s all going in the right direction.”

THIS WEEK IN F1: 10 tricky quiz questions on the Spanish Grand Prix

Wheatley admitted that “we need to go to a few more circuits” before making definitive conclusions, but hopes the all-round nature of the Barcelona venue shows Sauber now have a package to challenge for points more often.

“If we look at Barcelona for as long as I’ve been coming here, since 1991, it’s been a true test of a car’s performance,” he commented. “Generally, a car that performs here well performs well at a lot more circuits, so I’m looking forward to it [the rest of the season].”