Sauber drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto don’t get far in China, with both ending up in the gravel within a few corners on the first lap.
After a strong qualifying and twelfth place on the grid, Sauber driver Nico Hülkenberg briefly had hopes of a return to the points, as in the season opener in Australia – but after just three corners on Sunday in Shanghai, those hopes were dashed:
“The rear end suddenly gave way completely,” said Hülkenberg: “I almost completely lost control of the car, got very, very aggressive oversteer at the exit of turn three, and went full into the gravel next to the track,” the German described on RTL after the race, describing the scene that ruined his Sunday right at the start – because of it he fell back, “I think to last place.”
Asked whether the cause of the abrupt spin was the dirty air from the car in front, the Sauber driver says: “Probably. I know the effects of dirty air, it’s not my first race. But it was the first time in this car in dry conditions.” For Hülkenberg, “a lesson, because it really took me by surprise. The way the rear end broke loose was pretty spectacular too”.
But even worse than the sideways skid are the consequences: “The team said that we sustained quite a bit of damage to the underbody and somewhere on the front wing during the spin. So aerodynamically the car was no longer intact. Unfortunately, not much was left then,” says Hülkenberg: ”Of course it was disappointing and frustrating that it happened so early on – that was basically the end of the race.”
“The car had less downforce, was hard to drive and it was correspondingly difficult to manage the tires,” he describes the problems, to which more were added in the course of the race: ‘[The] right throttle got hot – even though we were so slow,’ Hülkenberg can’t resist a bit of gallows humor at the end of a hard day’s work.
Sauber: “One week hero, next weekend zero”
Looking back at the rollercoaster of emotions, compared to the joyful surprise in Melbourne, the veteran commented: “Things are so close. One week you’re the hero, the next weekend you’re zero. But that’s the way the game is in Formula One, especially in the midfield, where everyone is very, very close together.” Despite the ultimately sobering result, the 37-year-old also wants to take something positive away from China:
such as the realization that, contrary to what some critics have predicted, Sauber is not completely without a chance against the competition when major difficulties like the ones on Sunday do not arise: “I believe that we could have been in the midfield today if the first lap had gone well and without damage. That’s the first impression.”
Although he does not yet know the “full picture of the race”, but the feedback from the command post that “despite the significant aerodynamic damage” they were able to keep up with the times of some of the other midfield teams “sounded at least encouraging,” explains the veteran. And racking up more kilometers didn’t hurt either. After all, Hülkenberg points out: “I’m still learning and discovering more details.”
Of course, the same applies to team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto: the rookie only gets a few corners further than Hülkenberg on the first lap of Shanghai, then he too is in the gravel. However, the German has the youngster’s back: “I think our car is generally not the easiest to drive and control in traffic,” says Hülkenberg.
Bortoleto vs. Bearman: “I ran into the dirt”
Bortoleto himself reported on his exit: “It was a mixture of dirty air and a slightly dirty track. I was on the outside to overtake Bearman, who was on hard tires, and maybe I gave him a little too much space – just to avoid a collision. That’s how I ended up in the dirt and lost the rear, all by myself, with no outside interference.”
Although it was unfortunate circumstances, ‘but it was my own mistake,’ Bortoleto takes responsibility for the excursion. The race at the back of the field also tends to degenerate into a test session for the Brazilian. At least it gave him the opportunity to “practice my race pace a bit,” said Bortoleto: “It was good to gain a little experience, because it was actually my first race in dry conditions in Formula 1.”
In the end, the two Sauber drivers finished 14th and 15th, each one lap behind – a flattering result considering that three cars were disqualified: Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Team manager Beat Zehnder therefore has no illusions either: “Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done: the field is very close, and every small improvement counts on the track. Whichever team finds those tenths first will secure the advantage – so we have to keep pushing hard,” demands the Swiss, who nevertheless finds: “It’s encouraging that both cars finished the race and our pace over the entire weekend was encouraging.” If only it hadn’t been for that darn first lap…
