2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Sunday

Imola, 18 May 2025 – Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber had a weekend of both progress and disappointment in an action-packed Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Opting for a split-strategy approach, the team saw the decision initially pay dividends for Nico Hulkenberg. Starting 17th on the grid with the hard compound tyre, the German executed a measured race, capitalising on a Virtual Safety Car on lap 30 to complete his sole pit stop. Nico climbed into the top ten and looked set to secure valuable points before a late-race neutralisation shuffled the order, ultimately leaving him to cross the line in 12th place.

On the other side of the garage, Gabriel Bortoleto showed early promise but was frustrated after worse than expected tyre degradation created the need for a two-stop strategy. Gabi was further challenged by the lack of performance from the medium compound tyre after the safety car, ultimately finishing P18.

Attention now turns to the jewel of the calendar – the Monaco Grand Prix – where precision and performance will once again be put to the test.
 

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: “Ultimately mixed emotions coming out of the race. At one point after the safety car came in, it looked like Nico could score some points. But keeping a Red Bull behind you is difficult and then the balance dropped away and ultimately Nico finished P12. Gabi started P14 and we had high hopes for the race. Unfortunately, we were late to react to tire degradation and had to convert to a two-stop strategy, a decision we paid the price for until the end of the race. We were further impacted by the decision to try the mediums after the safety car, but that tyre proved not up to the job, and we lost track position as a result, with Gabi eventually finishing P18. We need to take a careful look at our internal processes and apply lessons learned quickly as we head to Monaco and then Barcelona.”

Nico Hulkenberg (car number 27):
Race result: 12th
Fastest lap: 1:20.401 (Lap 62)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Hard) – Lap 29 (New Medium)

“This was one of the better races for me this year. We’ve been more competitive compared to other weekends and I had a better feeling in the car today compared to Friday and Saturday. In the race, we were lucky with the timing of the virtual safety car which put us in a position to fight for points. Unfortunately, the safety car towards the end of the race was of no help for us. At the restart I was surrounded by faster cars, and I was unable to keep Yuki (Tsunoda) or Fernando (Alonso) - on fresher tyres - behind me. In the end, everything combined to prevent us from scoring points. On pure pace, we still have some catching up to do, but the margins are so tight that small improvements can make a big difference.“

Gabriel Bortoleto (car number 5):
Race result: 18th
Fastest lap: 1:20.630 (Lap 57)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium) – Lap 12 (New Hard) – Lap 29 (New Hard) – Lap 46 (Used Medium)

"It wasn’t the easiest race for me today. As a positive, our pace was good, especially on hard tyres, and I was glad to see that. The first stint was going well, but the Virtual Safety Car unfortunately came at the wrong time for us and cost us a lot of momentum. From that point on, it was difficult to make the most of any opportunities that came our way. It’s obviously frustrating, because we pretty much were in the wrong place at the wrong time for most of the race. Still, I am happy about this small improvement in terms of pace, even though the results don't show that. Now, it's time to analyse and understand where we could have done better and go for the next one in Monaco next week."