2025 Mexican Grand Prix – Saturday
Mexico City, 25 October 2025 – Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber fought through a difficult qualifying session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, as Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto set the 13th and 16th fastest times for tomorrow’s Mexican Grand Prix grid.
Gabriel missed out on a slot in Q2 by little more than 0.1s, while Nico edged Fernando Alonso by 0.087s in Q2 – testament to the small margins that continue to make a difference this season, especially in qualifying. Tomorrow’s race, with a long run down to turn one creating opportunities from the very start, will be a chance to move forward and fight for a place in the top ten.
Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: “It was a well-executed qualifying session from the team. We delivered our plan and put ourselves in a position to get the most out of each lap, with both drivers having the opportunit$y for a clear run.
“Nico reached the limit of what the car had to give. These cars operate in a very narrow performance window where everything has to be perfect, from tyre temperatures to balance, hence we see such variability in the midfield from race to race. Gabi was building momentum nicely but, unfortunately, the balance wasn’t the same as the last run and he couldn’t deliver a clean lap.
“Our focus is now on making progress in the race tomorrow. It will be a challenging strategic call with tyre choices and whether all three compounds will come into play. We need to be ready to make the most of any opportunities that come our way.”
Nico Hulkenberg (car number 27):
FP3: 14th / 1:17.664 (25 laps)
Q1: 1:17.251 (9 laps)
Q2: 13th / 1:17.016 (6 laps)
“I’m not super happy with how qualifying went, as we thought there was a bit more potential after the pace we showed in practice. It felt like we were close to the limit but just couldn’t quite extract the extra couple of tenths needed for Q3. The laps were clean and consistent, but the pace wasn’t quite there. Still, we’re in the mix and tomorrow’s race is another opportunity. The field is very tight, so we’ll look carefully at our strategy options and give it everything to come away with a strong result.”
Gabriel Bortoleto (car number 5):
FP3: 10th / 1:17.526 (24 laps)
Q1: 16th / 1:17.412 (9 laps)
“It’s a bit of a shame, to be honest. The first two laps of qualifying felt quite strong, but I wasn’t able to put everything together on the final push with the new softs. I struggled to find the grip I needed across the lap, and in the end, the lap just didn’t come together as we hoped. The pace was definitely there, which makes it even more frustrating. It’s a tough track for overtaking, so tomorrow won’t be easy, but we’ll give it everything. There’s still a lot to play for, and we’ll aim to make the most of every opportunity in the race.”