2025 British Grand Prix – Saturday

Silverstone, 5 July 2025 – Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber endured a challenging day under Silverstone’s cloudy sky, as Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg qualified in 17th and 19th place for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix. It was a busy day for the team, with the crew performing admirably to fix Gabriel’s car in time for qualifying after an off in the final practice session, and the threat of looming rain hanging over the afternoon session.

In tomorrow’s race, with Gabriel gaining a position on the grid due to a penalty to Oliver Bearman, both drivers will aim to move forward, using their race pace to get back into the midfield fight.
 

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: “It was a tough qualifying session today, reflecting where we are in our journey with the C45. We’ve made good progress with the car at previous circuits, but this weekend we struggled to extract the same level of pace. Despite the setback in FP3, Gabriel showed resilience in qualifying, settling into a rhythm and ultimately securing P16 for tomorrow’s starting grid, following Bearman’s penalty. Nico had a relatively clean run, but the pace simply wasn’t there for us today, and he finished in P19. Looking ahead to tomorrow, there’s a chance of rain, which could mix things up – and if that happens, we’ll be ready to capitalise.”

Nico Hulkenberg (car number 27):
FP3: 15th / 1:26.499 (19 laps)
Q1: 19th / 1:26.574 (9 laps)

"So far, it’s been a tough weekend for us, and the lack of pace was clear from the start. As the wind picked up, Sector 1 became even more challenging, and I wasn’t able to put the lap together the way I wanted. The windy conditions, especially as the light rain approached, made things difficult. While everyone had to deal with it, we seemed to be a bit more affected.

 

“Compared to recent weekends where we were competitive, this circuit has highlighted some of our limitations. This track layout simply doesn’t suit us as well as others. Hopefully, some changeable conditions tomorrow will give us an opportunity to fight back."

 

Gabriel Bortoleto (car number 5):

FP3: 16th / 1:26.501 (15 laps)
Q1: 17th / 1:26.446 (9 laps)

“It’s been a difficult weekend for us so far. From the first session, we struggled with overall pace and balance compared to recent events, and the gusty wind made it even tougher – it's something our car doesn’t cope with well, though that’s the same for everyone. Compared to Austria, where we were strong across all sessions, this circuit just didn’t suit us. Unfortunately, I had a couple of spins during practice, which damaged the upgraded floor, so I had to run the older spec in qualifying. That definitely didn’t help in such a tight midfield, but I still gave it everything I had. I don’t think there was much more left to extract today.

“Despite the setbacks, my confidence hasn’t been affected. Spinning or even crashing is part of the job when you’re pushing the car to the limit – it's not ideal, of course, and I’m sorry to the team for the extra work. They did an incredible job to get the car rebuilt in time, and I’m really grateful for that. In qualifying, I was already pushing hard from the first lap and felt strong—even in the same corner where I’d gone off earlier. Tomorrow, we’ll try to make the most of any opportunities. If the weather turns chaotic, we may get opportunities to move forward. I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”