Kick Sauber
Hulkenberg gave his team a scare when he spun in final practice, clipping the walls with both his front and rear wing. Fortunately, the damage was minimal, and he atoned by making Q2 in Qualifying. Bortoleto was left frustrated by traffic in Q1, and he found himself 0.007s short of making Q2 with his team mate. But both drivers will inherit a position when Tsunoda’s penalty is applied.
Nico Hulkenberg, 13th, 1:12.183
“It was a really tight field out there today in qualifying—just incredibly small margins separating the cars. We made it into Q2 and finished P13, which I’m happy with given how close everything was. With penalties ahead, I’ll be starting from P11 tomorrow, so that puts us in a decent position.
“Looking ahead to tomorrow’s race, we’ve got a solid foundation to build on. The long-run pace in practice looked decent, and with a slight rise in temperatures expected, things could get a bit more interesting. It’s going to be a competitive race, no doubt, but from where we’re starting, we should be in the mix to fight for points.”
Gabriel Bortoleto, 16th, 1:12.385
“I’m obviously quite disappointed not to make it into Q2 today, especially by such an incredibly small margin. It was very tight out there — we missed it by just seven milliseconds, and on a track like this, that’s nothing. It’s a very short lap, so the gaps end up super close. I think the lap I did was okay, but not perfect: you can find this margin in any corner. In a field this tight, that perfect corner or that little detail can make all the difference.
“We knew coming into the weekend that this track probably wasn’t going to be as strong for us as Barcelona, just because of its characteristics. I did the best I could, and the pace felt like it was there, but in the end it just wasn’t enough. P16 is never where you want to be, but it is what it is — that’s what we could do today. I’m not going to sit here hitting myself over not making Q2. We don’t yet have the car to be comfortably in there every time, but we’re building on that, getting closer every weekend. Sometimes you get the lap right, sometimes you don’t, and today was one of those days where it just didn’t come together enough.
“Still, I think we’ve done a pretty decent job this weekend so far, and now we focus on tomorrow. I think the race pace should be okay. It’s hard to say, but anything can happen in Formula One. I’m happy that Nico made it into Q2 — now we’ll see what we can do from here and keep pushing.”
Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal
“We went into today’s qualifying with a build-push strategy across all runs, and while the red flag for Albon’s debris caused a brief disruption, the field was incredibly tight. At the end of Q1, Gabriel missed out on Q2 by just seven thousandths of a second — a tough result for him and one we all feel. The margins this year are simply extraordinary.
“Nico delivered a strong lap to make it through and ultimately qualified P13 with a 1:12.183. He was just 0.18s off Q3, which really highlights how compact the midfield is. With penalties for Tsunoda and Hadjar, Nico will start the race from P11 — putting us in a solid position for tomorrow.
“On behalf of the entire team, I’d also like to extend our congratulations to Emma for her F1 Academy race win. To bounce back from the disappointment of a disqualification in the previous race and return to the top of the podium is a testament to her resilience, focus, and determination. It was an outstanding performance, and one that truly reflects the spirit we aim to uphold throughout the team.”
