Hulkenberg pinpoints where Hungarian GP got away from him as he takes positives from first half of season.
Nico Hulkenberg has admitted that his P19 Qualifying result was the “start of the end” for his hopes at the Hungaroring, with the German unable to pull off another rise to the points around the tight, twisty venue.
6 Aug 2025
Formula One - Official Site

Nico Hulkenberg made up ground from the back of the grid in Hungary, but could not quite reach the points. Hulkenberg’s back-of-the-grid start in Hungary proved to be a more frustrating affair – the Kick Sauber racer spending most of his two-stop race stuck in traffic, given the lack of overtaking opportunities.

“It was always going to be difficult from the back,” Hulkenberg reflected after the race, which team mate Gabriel Bortoleto – who starred to reach Q3 – finished in sixth position. “We know in traffic it’s a bit difficult here.”

“I think the one-stop worked quite well for many people, so the two-stop naturally wasn’t even the faster one. A two-stop, plus a lot of traffic, means a very difficult race. No yield today, but I’m happy that Gabi was there to pick up the points. It all goes back to [Saturday], having a poor quali. Starting from the back is obviously the start of the end, a little bit.”

‘P19’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...W3T6BfVoFsXULC


Nico Hulkenberg questions false start penalty after "tough" Hungarian GP: "I didn't do anything wrong"
3 Aug 2025
Motorsport.com

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 Germany following the race, Hulkenberg admitted he had "no idea" before giving his own explanation of what may have happened. "I need to take a look at it. From my perspective, I didn’t do anything wrong, no jump start. I was a bit late today engaging first gear, and when you do that, the car makes a little jump.”

"I don’t know. Maybe I was already quite far forward and that somehow triggered it. That’s the only explanation I can think of, but yeah, I’ll have to review it." The FIA monitors any movement from a car "after the four (4) second light is illuminated and before the start signal is given by extinguishing all red lights.”

"I didn't do anything wrong";

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/n...rong/10748194/


Hulkenberg and Bortoleto praise Sauber’s progress in 2025 ahead of Audi transformation
Kick Sauber drivers Hulkenberg and Bortoleto have been reflecting on an impressive start to the season as the team prepares for their Audi transition next year.
15 Aug 2025
Formula One - Official Site

Speaking in the media pen ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Hulkenberg said: “I think it's been a very positive first half of the season up until the summer break, obviously since Barcelona we've really managed to turn things around. “If you look where we started in winter testing compared to where we are now this is definitely good progress and a lot has happened since.”

On building for the future, the German has high hopes for the continued growth of the team and what can come next as they prepare for their transition into Audi for 2026. “Obviously so many things change on the technical side next year and I think many people are in the dark and we can only really just speculate,” he added.

“But what is being built behind the scenes and the infrastructure, and the team structure that we're building, that is growing. I think that looks good, [it] looks positive. Still a lot more to do if we look and compare ourselves to the top runners currently, but [we are] definitely going in the right direction.”

‘Sauber’s progress’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...IzcHmWTdXPr9As


Wheatley hails ‘most collaborative’ driver pairing he’s ever seen
15/08/2025
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Jonathan Wheatley has hailed the Swiss outfit’s current driver lineup of veteran Nico Hulkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto as the most “collaborative” pairing he has witnessed in his extensive Formula 1 career. “It's incredibly important,” Wheatley told reporters after the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I have to say that it's the closest, most collaborative driver pairing I think I can even remember in all my time in Formula 1. Gabriel has a fantastic work ethic. He has a capacity for taking on new information. He's proving in every way to be the future star that we expected him to be. And Nico is part of that journey with him.”

“On the other side of the engineering table, you've got this extraordinary experience and Nico's proven talent. I mean, we're talking about Gabi a lot [after Hungary], but Nico did a tremendous job. You don't really see it or you don't notice it because it didn't result in a points finish. But as a team, we're very pleased with both of our drivers.”

For rookie Gabriel Bortoleto: “It's worth pointing out again that he hasn't done 10,000 kilometers of testing of previous cars,” the Briton noted. “He hasn't done 10,000 kilometers in the Formula 1 car. It's his first season in Formula 1. There are so many circuits that he's not been to. And there's some coming up that he hasn't been to. He's been able to deliver brilliantly over the last few races in circuits that he knows. I think he's matured and developed as a driver. And I think he's going to be able to adapt to these new circuits much quicker than he did in the first half of the season.”

‘Most collaborative driver pairing he’s ever seen’;

https://f1i.com/news/546257-wheatley...ever-seen.html


Hulkenberg ‘overwhelmed’ by 700 messages after British GP podium
26/07/2025
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Nico Hulkenberg is still riding high from his stunning podium finish at the British Grand Prix earlier this month, describing the aftermath of his career-defining result as “overwhelming”. The 37-year-old German reflected on the whirlwind two weeks following his Silverstone success.
“Yeah. Surprisingly, they've been very good,” Hulkenberg said, when asked how he spent the break after his podium finish. “Nice to have a bit of time after and to enjoy the moment properly and not dive straight into the next Grand Prix. So that was good timing from that point of view.”

“Obviously, just an incredible race. Those conditions were very tricky, but we made all the right decisions and rewarded ourselves coming from last, which was pretty crazy and special. The aftermath was also overwhelming,” he revealed. “The feedback and responses we got, well over 700 messages. Took me a good week to work through it all, but obviously amazing and nice to feel and see all that.”

“The feedback and responses we got, well over 700 messages”;

https://f1i.com/news/544668-hulkenbe...gp-podium.html


Jonathan Wheatley's "shortcuts to performance" hailed by Nico Hulkenberg
Nico Hulkenberg has praised new Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley for bringing “shortcuts to performance” from his experience at Red Bull
Jul 25, 2025
Alex Harrington
Motorsport.com

Nico Hulkenberg has praised the early impact of team principal Jonathan Wheatley, who brings his experience as Red Bull’s former sporting director to the struggling Sauber outfit. “Very quickly he saw possibilities to optimise here and there. It’s just shortcuts to performance and to a better and a more streamlined organisation and race operation.”

"He applied some things in the structure of the team which are beneficial and helpful. Often, it's just little tweaks, but many little tweaks are a positive contribution. And back at the factory, there's a lot more work to do as we grow, to put the pieces into position and make sure they work productively in the future.”

Wheatley said after the team's success at Silverstone. "I've spoken about how important momentum is in a team, and for me, what I take from this result is that people start believing in us. I can say the words, I can say we're gaining momentum, I can say we're putting performance on the car, I can say all the hard work Mattia [Binotto] put in before I got here is coming to light, but it is all true.

“Shortcuts to performance”;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/j...berg/10744872/