Nico Hülkenberg will start the US Grand Prix from eleventh position: Why the Sauber driver was unable to repeat Friday’s performance and remains positive nonetheless
In Friday’s sprint qualifying, Nico Hülkenberg caused a huge surprise with his fourth place, but on Saturday, the Sauber driver was brought back down to earth: The start accident in the sprint was followed by an early exit in Q2 in qualifying, leaving him in eleventh place.
“Yes, I didn’t hit the last sector quite cleanly and well,” a slightly disappointed Hülkenberg admitted to Sky. “Up to that point, the whole lap was already a bit on the limit with the rear axle, which was bucking and acting up a bit.”
“And you can feel that here in the last sector, where the tires are wearing down a bit.” Curiously, the Sauber driver actually set his fastest lap in Q2 on used tires, which “is of course unusual and not normal and shouldn’t be the case.”
That’s why Saturday’s qualifying wasn’t “quite optimized,” Hülkenberg admits. Nevertheless, the 38-year-old is looking forward to Sunday’s race with confidence, as eleventh place is “still not a bad starting position.”
Hülkenberg has the necessary track experience
In addition, things have been going very well for next year’s Audi driver in Austin so far. “I’ve been happy all weekend,” grins Hülkenberg, even though he had to bury his hopes of a good sprint result in the first corner.
The fact that he has done so well in Austin so far may also have something to do with his track experience, which is particularly valuable here. “It’s a tricky track with all the bumps and the wind,” emphasizes the German. “If you’ve experienced it before, that’s a bonus.”
“Otherwise, it’s very difficult the first time,” believes Hülkenberg, adding: “I think it’s very challenging, so maybe that plays a role too.” That may also be one reason why his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto has not been doing so well in Austin so far. In Saturday’s qualifying, the rookie even finished in 16th position. “I’m just having problems,” admits the Sauber driver. “It’s the first weekend of the year where I really feel like I’m struggling on a race track.”
Gabriel Bortoleto complains: No confidence in the car
“This weekend, I have no confidence [in the car] and feel like every time I push it to the limit, I lose control.” This also has to do with the fact that the Sauber can only be driven perfectly within a small working window. “The first two sectors aren’t so bad, but then comes the third sector, where you really have to have confidence to push the car to the limit, and I just feel like I’m not there yet. So, that’s it.”
Interesting: Bortoleto and Hülkenberg don’t drive with the same setup. “Each of us tries to find a good setup,” explains the Brazilian. “When I try to drive what he drives, I just don’t feel like it’s fast enough for me.”
Formula 1 rookie knows: I have to adapt to the car
He can only keep up with his German teammate in the fast sections of the first sector, but he has major problems with his car on the rest of the track. “I feel like I’m losing it every time, I have understeer and the car just isn’t connected to my driving style.”
“And honestly, I have to adapt to the car, it’s not that the car adapts to the driver—that’s not the right mentality either,” Bortoleto knows. “Now we’re looking ahead to tomorrow’s race. If it doesn’t work out there, we’ll go to Mexico and try for another good weekend.”
“Both cars are in a solid starting position for the race, everything is still open,” adds team boss Jonathan Wheatley. “Our goal remains the same as always: to fight for points. As we saw in the sprint today, nothing can be taken for granted.”
