The Brazil GP Sprint brought a small sense of relief for Sauber, with Nico Hulkenberg set to start from tenth position and Gabriel Bortoleto from fourteenth. With only FP1 completed, teams were limited in the amount of data they could gather, but in a mini-race where rain is expected to play a major role, both Sauber drivers see a realistic chance to fight for points. Here’s a look at their impressions following yesterday’s session.
Nico Hulkenberg commented on the session: “Overall, it was a clean session. Sprint shootouts are always extremely intense, and this track is not the easiest when it comes to managing traffic. I think we maximized what we could today. Behind the scenes, we have been working hard to improve performance, and we hope that effort will pay off tomorrow. The goal remains to score points. The midfield is incredibly tight this season, so every opportunity really counts.”
Gabriel Bortoleto added: “Q1 went quite well: we managed a clean lap, and I’m happy with how it went. In Q2, I struggled a bit in the first sector on my first attempt. Even though the second lap was better, the tires were no longer at their peak. That’s on me—I should have pushed more on the first run. This is my first time driving on this circuit, and I’m really enjoying it. The atmosphere is incredible, and the fans are giving us amazing support—it’s fantastic. Today I wanted to give them a little extra, but we will keep pushing and aim to perform our best tomorrow and on Sunday.”
With rain expected for the Sprint, both Sauber drivers remain confident that they can challenge for points in a highly unpredictable race. Fans will have to wait until 15:00
Central European Time to see how Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto navigate the wet conditions and midfield battles in Interlagos.
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