2025 Bahrain Grand Prix – Saturday

Sakhir, 12 April 2025 – Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber claimed the 16th and 18th slots on the grid for tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix, as Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto battled the hot and windy weather in Sakhir.

Following a scorching FP3, in which conditions were not fully representatives of what was to be expected in qualifying, and during which Nico suffered a small technical issue that curtailed his running – one that was fixed in time for qualifying by the garage crew – the team entered the grid-setting session conscious of the tight margins separating the midfield.

Nico managed to claim a place in the top 15 with a last-gasp effort in the closing stages of Q1 while Gabriel was in P18, owing to a lack of balance in his car. In Q2, Nico managed to extract the most from his C45, setting the 13th fastest time on the road – only to see his whole performance in the second qualifying segment expunged from the results due to a very late call by the stewards, who invalidated his final lap of Q1 – the one which originally placed him in the top 15. The situation saw Nico relegated to 16th – a disappointing outcome after what had been a good performance by the German.

Ultimately, Nico’s and Gabriel’s starting positions mean the team will face an uphill task in tomorrow’s race: still, with races at the Bahrain International Circuit often being eventful affairs, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber will head into race day determined to make up ground in what remains a very tightly contested midfield.

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: "I'm disappointed with the outcome of qualifying today. Unfortunately, Nico's fastest lap in Q1 [that had originally put him into Q2] was deleted after a very late review, meaning he'll start tomorrow's race from P16. That said, he did an incredible job on two sets of older tyres in Q2, which would have put him in P13. As for Gabriel, the balance of the car proved to be more difficult than expected, meaning he couldn’t extract a better lap time. So, while the outcome isn't what we wanted, we'll regroup overnight, learn from today, and focus on the race tomorrow."

Nico Hulkenberg (car number 27):
FP3: 19th / 1:34.636 (7 laps)
Q1: 16th / 1:32.067 (9 laps)

“Looking at our performance on track, before the call by the stewards, I think we had made the best of today’s conditions, and therefore I’m quite happy with the performance we put in. Going into qualifying, we knew our day could be tricky, because we had a less-than-ideal FP2 yesterday and our FP3 was cut short with a technical issue this morning. The conditions, with a strong breeze and changing grip levels, made the car challenging to drive at the limit: still, we had extracted the most out of the car, so it’s a pity to start from P16 after the Q2 efforts were deleted. It’ll be a big challenge to get into the fight for the points: we will need a good start and a good strategy, of course, and I have full confidence in everyone in the team that we’ll give it our best shot."

Gabriel Bortoleto (car number 5):

FP3: 18th / 1:34.518 (16 laps)
Q1: 18th / 1:32.186 (6 laps)
 

"It's been a rather difficult qualifying for us today. The conditions changed quite a lot with the wind, and unfortunately, our car is very sensitive to these variables. I felt the lap I delivered was a good one, but we were lacking some grip, and ultimately, we haven't been able to progress past Q1. After a promising Friday, I was hoping to reach Q2 today, so it’s disappointing. Looking ahead to tomorrow, we know it will be a challenging race, but we’ll give everything we have. We’ll stay focused and try to get in the mix to move further up on the grid, maximising any opportunities that come our way."