2025 Italian Grand Prix – Saturday
Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber delivered another strong performance in a fiercely contested qualifying session at the Italian Grand Prix, where the battle in the midfield came down to razor-thin margins. Gabriel Bortoleto secured P8, which means he will be moving up to P7 on the starting grid following Lewis Hamilton’s penalty – equalling his best-ever Formula One starting position. Nico Hulkenberg showed competitive pace throughout the session but narrowly missed out on a spot in Q3, finishing P12 in a qualifying battle decided by mere hundredths of a second.
Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: “Today was an encouraging qualifying performance from the team. In Q1, the gap between P1 and P20 was just eight tenths of a second – which shows how incredibly close the field is this year. Both cars progressed cleanly into Q2, and Gabriel carried that pace all the way through to Q3 with a rock-solid performance. Even without the luxury of two new tyre runs, it was a tremendous result that sees him start from P7 after Hamilton’s penalty. Nico narrowly missed out on Q3 by just six hundredths of a second, only a tenth and a half behind Gabriel. It underlines once again how fine the margins are that make the difference. We’ll take the momentum from today into the race tomorrow, with both drivers well placed to fight for valuable points for the team.”
Nico Hulkenberg (car number 27):
FP3: 11th / 1:19.737 (18 laps)
Q1: 1:19.777 (9 laps)
Q2: 12th / 1:19.498 (6 laps)
“Qualifying today just wasn’t good enough on my part. In Q2, I didn’t execute the first run properly, which meant I didn’t have a banker lap before the second attempt. That left me with only one shot, so I couldn’t take the usual risks and had to leave a bit of margin to make sure we secured a competitive time. Looking ahead to tomorrow, the car feels quick and we’re in a good place, so it’s all still to play for with the field as tight as ever. I feel confident in the car, so let’s see what we can do in the race.”
Gabriel Bortoleto (car number 5):
FP3: 6th / 1:19.558 (18 laps)
Q1: 1:19.688 (9 laps)
Q2: 1:19.323 (6 laps)
Q3: 8th / 1:19.390 (6 laps)
“I’m really happy with our performance today and to have made it back in Q3. The last lap wasn’t ideal, and I feel like I left a little bit on the table there, but it’s still a strong position to start from. The car felt good today, our pace is there, and I think tomorrow has the potential to be an interesting one. Looking at the grid, there’s a few top teams ahead of us, but I’m feeling quite confident we can put up a decent fight and see what’s possible in the race.”
