The Singapore Grand Prix was a weekend to forget for Sauber, both in terms of the final result and the evolution of the Constructors’ Championship standings. Amid McLaren’s celebrations for their World Championship title, the Swiss team lost ground to Aston Martin for Fernando Alonso’s seventh place, with eighth place now slightly more at risk due to Haas’ comeback, trailing by just nine points after Oliver Bearman finished ninth.
Sauber suffered a double zero, the second consecutive after Baku, primarily caused by a first-lap incident for Gabriel Bortoleto. The contact forced the Brazilian driver to return to the pits for a front wing replacement, ending any hopes of a comeback and resulting in a final 17th place. “It was definitely not our best race,” Gabriel Bortoleto explained. “I sustained some damage on the first lap after contact in turn one: we ran three times wider than intended and unfortunately touched, breaking the front wing. This forced us to pit for a replacement, which cost us some time, and from that point onward the race was always going to be difficult. Our pace wasn’t the best, and once Franco Colapinto passed us, we knew it would be hard to attack him – overtaking here is extremely challenging. I spent much of the race behind him, which also allowed others to close in. Overall, it was just one of those days where things didn’t go exactly as we wanted. However, we will take the positives from the weekend, learn what we can, and move forward. The team continues to work hard, both here and at headquarters, and we are all determined to get back to scoring points.”
The race was also disappointing for Nico Hülkenberg, who finished last after a spin. “It wasn’t our day,” the German added. “Without a good position on track, it is always tough for us, especially on a street circuit like this, where overtaking is nearly impossible unless you have a significant tire advantage. In the end, when I closed in on Franco Colapinto, he braked quite early – unexpectedly – and I lost a lot of rear downforce, which caused a heavy lock-up and the spin. We will need to review the strategy, but overall we didn’t have the right pace this weekend. Nevertheless, even on difficult days like this, there is always something to learn and carry forward to the next races.”
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