During the night, Ferrari made fans dream, but another team with the same engine did not achieve the same results. It was a tough race where the pace was lacking, and combined with some mistakes from both drivers and a bit of bad luck, Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg crossed the finish line in 18th and 19th place, respectively. On the final lap, Doohan attempted an overtake and made contact with Gabriel Bortoleto; as a result, Jack received a 10-second penalty after the race and two penalty points on his license (a maximum of 12 points can be accumulated in 12 months before disqualification).
Sauber seeks redemption in qualifying
After the F1 Sprint qualifying saw Hülkenberg finish 19th and Bortoleto 14th, the official qualifying session flipped the roles for the two Sauber drivers. Bortoleto was forced to start from the penultimate grid slot in his first Chinese GP, while Hülkenberg, despite missing out on Q3, secured an excellent 12th place. For Nico, tomorrow’s race presents a great opportunity to make an impression.
Where does Sauber lose time at the Shanghai circuit in China?
Comparing the F1 qualifying telemetry data between Nico Hülkenberg’s Sauber (1:31.632) and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren (1:30.641, poleman), a significant difference appears at Turn 7 in China. Oscar Piastri keeps his foot on the accelerator throughout the corner, whereas Nico is forced to lift by 30%, just like Gabriel Bortoleto. Substantial differences in braking are also evident in the next corner, allowing Oscar Piastri to gain nearly four-tenths over Nico in just that sequence. Regarding top speeds, except for the straight between Turns 10 and 11, Piastri is actually slower than both Saubers, though these are minor differences compared to what the future Audi team loses in the technical sections.
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