2025 Mexican Grand Prix – Sunday
Mexico City, 26 October 2025 – Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber scored points for the second consecutive race weekend, courtesy of Gabriel Bortoleto’s tenth place in the Mexican Grand Prix. The young Brazilian made up six places from his starting position in a composed race that required him to make some decisive overtaking maneuvers, including the crucial one on Isack Hadjar with less than ten laps to go.
Nico Hulkenberg’s race, unfortunately, came to an early end as he was forced to retire with a technical failure: his car experienced a power issue during the formation lap which, despite the team’s attempt to rectify the problem and Nico’s valiant attempts to drive around it, caused a significant drop-off in on-track performance. To avoid further reliability issues, the team elected to retire the car and will now investigate the problem to fully understand what happened.
The point acquired today brings the team’s total to 60 as the team continues in its battle for position in the Constructors’ Championship.
Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: “It was a mixed day for the team. Unfortunately, Nico suffered a power issue during the formation lap, which meant he started the race with a compromised car. He did a great job driving around the problem, but ultimately, we had to make the difficult call to retire the car for reliability reasons.
“On the positive side, Gabi drove an outstanding race. Starting from P16 and finishing in the points with P10 is no small feat. He managed his tyres brilliantly, executed our strategy perfectly, and showed exceptional race craft in those final laps, particularly in his battle with Hadjar. The pit crew delivered an excellent stop that helped him gain crucial track position.
“Credit also where it’s due to Haas and Oliver Bearman. They did a fantastic job today, and we can only congratulate them, even though it obviously hurts to see them take so many points in such a tight midfield battle. The good news is we get to do it all again in two weeks at Gabi’s first home Grand Prix.”
Nico Hulkenberg (car number 27):
Race result: DNF
Fastest lap: 1:23.091 (Lap 14)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (Soft) - Lap 25 (Retired)
“It’s obviously a very tough one to take today. We had power issues right from the formation lap, which basically ended our race before it even began. It’s frustrating for everyone in the team because we know the pace was there to fight for something decent. Still, we managed to bring home a point with Gabi, which is better than nothing. Overall, a disappointing weekend, but we’ll work hard to understand what went wrong and fight back in Brazil.”
Gabriel Bortoleto (car number 5):
Race result: 10th
Fastest lap: 1:21.121 (Lap 39)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (Medium) – Lap 37 (Soft)
“Overall, I’m happy with today’s result. Starting P16 and finishing in the points shows the strength of our race pace and the great strategy from the team. I had a strong start, made some good overtakes on track, and we managed the tyres well throughout the race, which was solid and well-executed.
“After a tough qualifying, this comeback means a lot. It proves that we never give up — we just kept pushing and it paid off. A big thank you to everyone at the track and back at the factory. Now I’m really excited to head to Brazil for my first home race in Formula 1. No pressure – I'm just proud to be going there off the back of a strong weekend.”