Nico Hülkenberg had an outstanding Friday to open the F1 US GP weekend for Sauber, setting the second-fastest practice lap before qualifying 4th for Saturday’s sprint race at Austin. It represents Hülkenberg’s best starting position for any F1 race since 4th at the sprint race at Red Bull Ring with Haas in 2023. It is also Sauber’s best starting position since Hülkenberg’s 4th at the 2013 running of the US Grand Prix, and puts him in a good position for his second podium of the year.
“The lap times and the stopwatch doesn’t lie”
Understatedly, Hülkenberg said the car felt “quite alright” on Friday. “Obviously in P1, things were looking good already. But it kind of looked too good to be true, so we weren’t sure if that’s the real deal or what other people were up to with their programme. But we were able to continue that trend.“
“Your own feeling and perception maybe doesn’t always match what the lap times say, but the lap times and the stopwatch doesn’t lie and that looked pretty good all day. So [I’m] happy, take that forward and hopefully we can hang on to it this weekend.“
Hulkenberg: “obviously we’ll fight” at F1 US GP sprint
Hülkenberg wasn’t able to place anything specific contributing to his or Sauber’s form. “The pace was just there. The car seemed to be fast here and in a good window, kind of hit the sweet spot. I think that’s all–plus I like it a lot here, it’s a good fun track still to drive.“
For the sprint race Hülkenberg seemed unfazed about his chances. “Even in a sprint, there’s a bunch of really quick cars with usually also a little bit better tyre deg numbers. But obviously we’ll fight, see what we can hang on to, and hopefully [get]something rewarding.“
