Hülkenberg: "It will take a few more races" until Sauber's recovery

(Motorsport-Total.com) - 18th place in qualifying, 15th place in the race: That's Sauber driver Nico Hülkenberg's result at the fifth Formula 1 race weekend of the 2025 season in Saudi Arabia. The German is correspondingly disappointed after the race, which left him without any points, saying: "We had too much tire wear and not enough speed."

Therefore, the gap to Sauber's direct competitors was "quite large." "And of course, starting from the back doesn't help either."

This could theoretically have been an opportunity for Hülkenberg and Sauber: In the first stint, the team opted for hard tires and wanted to extend this part of the race as long as possible, so they could have benefited from any incidents – but it didn't come to that. "I don't think there was even a yellow period apart from lap one," says Hülkenberg. "So it was pretty uneventful."

Added to this was a Sauber racing car that, from the driver's perspective, was "not well balanced" and had "too much tire wear," explains Hülkenberg. "That made it difficult. And when you start from the back, it makes things even more complicated."

Result: Hülkenberg gained only one position compared to qualifying and benefited from the retirements of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda in front of him.

Where Sauber stands now in the 2025 Formula 1 season

So where does Sauber stand after the first five races? Hülkenberg: "I don't know at the moment. We still have to analyze the race from the outside."

But one thing is already "pretty clear": Sauber definitely still has work to do to make the current C45 faster. "But that's the case for many," says Hülkenberg. "There's definitely a lot to analyze now. So it's good to take a short breather during the break and then start again in Miami."

Will Sauber attempt to catch up with the Formula 1 midfield with technical updates at the Imola race weekend after next? Hülkenberg is skeptical: "It will probably take a few more races" before Sauber brings new parts to the racetrack.

No wonder: The Swiss team entered the development race early in 2025, deploying initial updates for the C45 at the season opener in Australia and adding more in subsequent races – when other teams hadn't even presented the first stage of development yet. But: Unlike other teams, Sauber has only scored points in the first race of the season so far.