F1 | What happened to Nico Hulkenberg’s qualifying form after his Silverstone podium?. Nico Hulkenberg has long been considered one of the best qualifiers in Formula 1.

F1 | The Hulkenberg mystery: where did his qualifying magic go after the podium?

For years, Nico Hulkenberg has been regarded as one of the strongest qualifiers in Formula 1, a true master of the single flying lap, as was evident again last season. This year, however, especially since the British Grand Prix where he claimed his first ever podium, the German driver seems to be struggling to unlock the potential of the Sauber right where he has always excelled: in qualifying.

Looking back at Nico Hulkenberg’s career, one recurring theme stands out — his extraordinary ability to deliver on Saturday. His precision in extracting the maximum from the car over one lap has often allowed him to climb the grid and aim for results that would otherwise have been unreachable.

The same script repeated itself in 2023 and 2024, when several top-10 starts were built on the strength of his sharp qualifying pace. This advantage often gave him a head start on Sunday and left his teammate Kevin Magnussen with few answers. Yet in 2025, that trademark skill seems to have faded, especially since Silverstone.

A surprising downturn

The numbers are telling: in eleven rounds so far this season, Nico Hulkenberg has started behind his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, a Formula 1 rookie with no prior reputation as a qualifying specialist, as his junior career results confirm. Even more worrying is that this trend has emerged while Bortoleto was still adjusting to a new and difficult car to drive, one hampered by a lack of downforce. To his credit, Hulkenberg also faced his own adaptation process, even pushing for major technical changes to the steering system and throttle pedal.

At the beginning of the year, Hulkenberg leaned on his experience, managing to hold his ground even without dominating Bortoleto consistently. But from the Austrian Grand Prix onward, when Bortoleto scored his first points in Formula 1, Nico Hulkenberg has failed to outqualify him, often finding himself relegated to the back of the midfield.

Early Q1 eliminations have compounded his problems, forcing him into aggressive race strategies that did not always pay off. There have been exceptions, notably in Austria and at Silverstone, where despite his qualifying issues he recovered into the points and even stepped onto the podium. Still, in such a tightly packed grid, starting further back drastically reduces his chances of consistently finishing inside the top 10, no matter how strong his race pace may be.

A struggle for confidence

Even before the summer break, Hulkenberg admitted that the lack of connection with the car was costing him valuable tenths of a second, which today can mean several rows on the grid. One of the biggest challenges has been a lack of front-end confidence and the persistent understeer of the C45.

This was an issue already discussed during pre-season testing, and although somewhat reduced by recent updates, it still lingers. The real limitation appears to be the car’s excessive sensitivity to conditions — especially wind — combined with Nico Hulkenberg’s driving style, which sometimes leads to small but costly mistakes. One example was his lock-up into turn 4 in Austria that caused a Q1 exit, only later salvaged by an impressive race comeback into the points.

“With the Haas I felt very comfortable and I knew the lap would be strong. With the Sauber, however, I’m not yet fully at one with the car in every corner. And when it’s the small details that make the difference, when you’re fighting on the edge between Q1 and Q2 or Q2 and Q3, you can very quickly find yourself on the wrong side,” Hulkenberg explained, comparing his last two seasons with the current campaign.

For Nico Hulkenberg, the root of the problem doesn’t seem to be a single flaw but rather a collection of small details that together erode his confidence. This makes it harder to extract the final tenths — or even thousandths — needed to stay competitive. At the moment, Bortoleto appears to be finding those margins with greater ease and consistency.

The team’s perspective

Sauber Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley has also addressed Nico Hulkenberg’s struggles, insisting that the situation is not as alarming as it may seem. “It’s a question I get asked more and more. Personally, I don’t believe there’s a fundamental problem. Nico is an extremely experienced and fast driver. Many, many times he’s been beaten in qualifying by thousandths or hundredths. It’s not always a drama. We spent years talking about the fact that Nico had never been on the podium,” Jonathan Wheatley said.

“Now he has finally done it. Honestly, I think this is just a transitional phase. Gabriel is quick as well: if one of them nails the lap, it’s normal that he can be in front. I believe Gabriel has also raced on a series of circuits he knows better. For Nico, there’s nothing to worry about — he’ll put it all together,” Wheatley added.

Wheatley’s comment highlights an important factor: track familiarity. In the central part of the season, when Bortoleto made a big step in qualifying, the calendar featured several circuits he already knew well from Formula 2 and Formula 3. That knowledge allowed the Brazilian to understand track characteristics quickly and naturally approach the limit. Those who have worked with him describe Gabriel Bortoleto as a fast learner who listens carefully in debriefs, qualities that have helped him adapt to Formula 1 alongside Hulkenberg.

Searching for the spark

For Nico Hulkenberg, the challenge now is to rediscover that spark that has defined his career — the ability to transform a weekend with a single exceptional lap. His story in Formula 1 proves that, when least expected, he can still produce a performance that changes everything. To do so in 2025, however, he will need to rebuild confidence at the limit, minimize mistakes, and learn to work around the limitations of the Sauber in order to fully unlock its potential.