Kick Sauber struggled to find their rhythm ahead of the F1 Singapore GP. Gabriel Bortoleto was eliminated in Q1 and Nico Hulkenberg made it to Q2. Bortoleto is cleared along with Tsunoda and Russell for not slowing down enough under a yellow flag. The Sauber team is lucky to be moving up to P11 and P14 due to a DSQ from Williams Racing.
Yellow flags
Kick Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto appears to be in good spirits about his car ahead of the F1 Singapore GP. A yellow flag was issued in the final moments of Q1 due to Pierre Gasly stopping on track due to a mechanical failure.
Bortoleto was unable to finish his lap due to the incident, but didn’t think too much of it. He calls himself ‘unlucky’ and discusses the ‘battle of lifting less’ due to the yellow flag. Giving it his best shot was all he worried about.
“I think we had a very solid car today in [qualifying], it’s just a matter of, you know, I’m a bit unlucky with the yellow flag there. I lifted a lot, but I don’t know if I could have lifted less or not. It was a little bit of a battle of who lifts less. I tried my best, shame that I could not go through.”
Who can lift more
Bortoleto mentioned the battle of lifting less, but doesn’t seem worried about an investigation on that line. Yuki Tsunoda got a 10-place grid penalty for a similar investigation at the F1 Canadian GP earlier this year. Bortoleto credits the investigation less towards his driving and more towards Gasly’s yellow flag.
“Yeah, I mean, they were checking, but it’s difficult to say, you know. I think we need to look at ourselves and that’s it. I should have been in and I should have been in. It doesn’t depend on other people. I think, obviously, the yellow flag, again, didn’t help us and now we move on.”
The Sauber driver got quite frustrated about opinions on the matter. He exclaimed that he doesn’t care for opinions on the rules and wants to focus on playing by them ahead of the F1 Singapore GP. In a huff, the Sauber driver says he will do whatever the FIA decides is the rule.
“I don’t know. I mean, it’s not my job to do this, right? It’s FIA’s job to decide what are the rules and whatever are the rules, I will play on it. I’m not here to decide any rules. I’m here to drive a Formula 1 car and I don’t care what are the rules. If they say you need to be on white, you need to be on white. If you need to be on black, you need to be on black. Whatever they say, I’m doing it.”
Bortoleto was cleared by the stewards after an investigation.
Factoring the pros and cons
Sauber teammate Nico Hulkenberg was also a bit upset with the result of the qualifying ahead of the F1 Singapore GP. Looking at both sides, he recognizes that it’s one of the few clean qualifiers in a while. Hulkenberg was happy to make it to Q2 since it is one of the few times he’s out-qualified his teammate this season. He has been behind his teammate since his first podium at the F1 British GP earlier this year. Hulkenberg focuses on the positives, mentioning P11 isn’t bad to start and the good progression through the session.
“Yeah, of course, on one hand, it’s a little bit upsetting and sad. On the other hand, you know, clean [qualifying] since it feels like a long time I’ve had a clean quali. So, you know, I’ll take it for today. I’m happy and satisfied with the laps I put in. They were all clean, good progression. So I think 11 is not a bad position to start from. And who knows whether a new soft, you know, could be worth a lot tomorrow.”
Less is more
The German is keeping his mentality light as he considers the lack of long runs a good thing. Hulkenberg thinks being less prepared for the F1 Singapore GP can bring welcome surprises.
“Look you know, because of all the red flags yesterday, nobody really got a long run in, which is quite, you know, like unusual. But I think it’s good. It’s positive. So we all go a little bit less prepared into the race tomorrow. Maybe, you know, that brings some surprises.
The Sauber driver acknowledges that there are many variables at play. He will continue to make the most of it to grab whatever points might be in his reach. Hulkenberg keeps his mentality fluid and is well aware that anything can happen ahead of the F1 Singapore GP.
“I don’t know. I think on paper, it looks pretty straightforward what everyone is going to do. But like always, obviously, you know, strategy depends on a few factors. Is there a safety car? Is it good for your timing or bad? You know, all these variables, obviously. But yeah, big push, obviously, to try and squeeze ourselves into the points tomorrow.”
