2025 Hungarian Grand Prix – Saturday
Budapest, 2 August 2025 – A qualifying session full of tension and razor-thin margins saw Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber deliver a mixed outcome at the Hungaroring, with Gabriel Bortoleto storming to a personal best P7 on the grid, while Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed out on Q2 in a tightly packed field.
Gabriel Bortoleto delivered a standout performance, progressing through all three sessions to secure a career-best P7 on tomorrow’s grid. His composed driving and ability to adapt to evolving track conditions, including shifting wind patterns, showcased both his maturity and the potential of the package beneath him.
Nico Hulkenberg showed promising pace throughout the practice sessions but, wasn’t able to fully translate it into qualifying performance in Q1. A sudden shift in car balance, particularly a lack of rear grip in high-speed corners, saw him miss out on Q2 by just a tenth, placing him P19. The result underscores the razor-thin gaps across the field and the importance of nailing every detail in qualifying. With both drivers showing strong pace at different stages of the weekend, the team now turns its focus to race day, aiming to convert potential into points.
Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: “We elected to go into qualifying with a two-run strategy in each session, running new/new tires in Q1, followed by scrubbed new for Q2, and the same for Q3 if we came through. For Nico, the lap time just didn’t come to him, and he ended up missing out on Q2 by a tenth, finishing in P19. If you want an indicator of just how tight the field has become, you have it right there. Q1 saw a strong performance from Gabi, who finished the session in P5 and delivered his fastest lap in qualifying. Moving forward into Q2, Gabi kept our hearts in our mouths at the end, moving up into Q3 by a thousandth of a second and again, showing how narrow the margins are between the drivers. Into Q3, and Gabi delivered a great qualifying performance, placing him P7, the highest race start position of his F1 career. Track conditions evolved during the session with the wind changing direction throughout. Gabi managed that well, which is a good omen ahead of the race tomorrow.”
Nico Hulkenberg (car number 27):
FP3: 10th / 1:16.025 (21 laps)
Q1: 19th / 1:16.081 (8 laps)
"There’s no hiding the fact that today’s result is disappointing, especially considering how strong the car felt throughout the practice sessions. From the first laps yesterday, the balance was encouraging, and even in FP3 this morning, I felt confident pushing. But once we got into Q1, the car behaved quite differently – the rear grip just wasn’t there, particularly in the high-speed corners. That shift in balance was something we hadn’t seen all weekend. We now need to dig into the data and understand what changed. The team has made good progress recently, and the feeling in the car has generally been positive, so it’s important we get to the bottom of this and make the right calls for tomorrow."
Gabriel Bortoleto (car number 5):
FP3: 9th / 1:15.978 (19 laps)
Q1: 6th / 1:15.586 (6 laps)
Q2: 10th / 1:15.687 (6 laps)
Q3: 7th / 1:15.725 (6 laps)
“I’m incredibly happy with how qualifying unfolded today. After a challenging start to the weekend where we lacked pace and confidence in the car, we worked hard to address the issues causing that and made strong progress. Securing a spot in Q3 and finishing P7 - my best result so far in Formula 1 - is a great milestone for both the team and me. It’s been a season of learning, as expected in a rookie year. Every session is a chance to grow, and I couldn’t do it without the amazing team around me. They push me, support me, and we’re making steps forward together. Now the focus is on converting this into a strong result in the race.”