Race Recap – 2025 Canadian Grand Prix

Montreal, 15 June 2025 – Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber scored back-to-back points for the first time in two years as Nico Hulkenberg finished in eighth place at the Canadian Grand Prix, with team-mate, Gabriel Bortoleto, crossing the line in 14th place.

The team delivered a solid performance across the weekend, as it continues its progression and builds on the momentum of the last couple of races. With 20 points to its name, the growing confidence of the team reflects the hard work taking place both trackside and back at HQ in Hinwil. Nico is reaping the rewards of his experience as he continues to extract pace from the C45, while Gabriel keeps improving, race weekend after race weekend, as he comes closer to his first points of his career.

Following this latest foray across the Atlantic, the team returns to Switzerland to prepare for the next couple of races – a back-to-back in Austria and Great Britain.

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: "It’s a fantastic atmosphere within the team tonight after a really strong performance here in Canada. Both drivers got off the line well, and Nico in particular showed great awareness and racecraft on lap one - holding back just enough to avoid the early chaos and seizing the opportunity to gain two places. From there, he delivered a composed and intelligent drive. Starting on the medium compound, our switch to the hard tyre proved to be spot on. It ultimately paid off as Nico brought it home in P8 under the Safety Car, delivering back-to-back points for the team, which is a big achievement and a milestone we hadn’t reached since Canada 2023.

“Gabriel had a tougher run, from further back but still put in a solid stint on the hards - battling through graining, traffic, and some intense racing to finish a respectable P14.

“The team has delivered another strong performance today. Strategically, our calls were right on the mark, the pit crew executed clean and efficient stops, and most importantly, we’ve once again shown that we have a race car capable of fighting in the midfield. Credit also goes to the wider team back in Hinwil - their hard work is starting to translate into results on track. Together with Mattia, it’s been great to build momentum, and we’re all looking forward to carrying that energy into the European races."

Nico Hulkenberg (car number 27):
Race result: 8th
Fastest lap: 1:15.372 (Lap 65)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium) – Lap 18 (New Hard)

“I’m really happy with today’s result - another strong race and more points on the board, which is always satisfying. I was able to stay out of trouble and take advantage of some battling ahead between Franco [Colapinto] and Alex [Albon] into Turn 8, which allowed me to gain a couple of positions exiting Turn 9. From there, it was about tyre management and maintaining consistent pace, making sure we executed the race cleanly. 

“We’ve now shown competitive pace at two very different circuits which also means the recent update has been a clear step forward. Especially under race condition our car was more consistent, better balanced, and overall much more predictable to drive. That kind of stability really allows you to push when it counts.”

Gabriel Bortoleto (car number 5):

Race result: 14th
Fastest lap: 1:15.414 (Lap 56)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Hard) – Lap 48 (New Medium)
 

"It was a tough weekend overall for me, but I am pleased to see the team score again. We were very close to Q2 in qualifying, but not making the cut yesterday compromised our Sunday: starting from P15 with faster cars like the Williams, Red Bull, and RB behind made it difficult. I had to push a lot on the tyres to keep ahead, and that in turn affected how the race progressed for me. We tried a strategy with a long first stint on the hard tyre, hoping for a Safety Car that came far too late, and once you're 20 seconds back after a pit stop, there's only so much you can recover, even on fresh tyres. I feel there was more potential - we could’ve gained another couple of positions on pace alone - but we need to understand what more we can do to start scoring points.

“Nico is doing a great job again, probably extracting all this car has to give, but knowing how close we are on a Saturday shows that our performance is close. We’re usually within half a tenth of each other in qualifying but, in this midfield, that can make a huge difference, as we’ve seen in the last couple of weekends. I think I’m extracting the pace, but I also need to learn how to maximise outcomes over the course of the race, and this will come with experience, weekend after weekend. I’m not going to complain—it's about reviewing everything, learning, and coming back stronger. We’ve made progress since Barcelona, even if this track didn’t suit us as much, and I’m confident we’re going in the right direction."