São Paulo, Brazil – Nico Hülkenberg secured ninth place adn two World Championship points at the Brazilian Grand Prix, a result he attributes to a remarkably effective one-stop strategy employed by Sauber. Hülkenberg battled closely with drivers including Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman throughout the race, describing the competition as “clean racing that was fun… tight, hard racing in the midfield.”
The key to Hülkenberg’s success was completing the 71-lap race with a single pit stop, switching from medium to soft tires on lap 36. Remarkably, those soft tires were “even used softs,” according to Hülkenberg, who praised both himself and the Sauber team for managing 35 laps on the compound. “It was nice that we managed to do that,” he said. Despite a less-than-ideal start that saw him lose positions, Hülkenberg marveled at the strategy’s effectiveness, calling it “crazy” to recover and score points.
The result has implications for the Formula 1 Constructors‘ Championship, where Haas currently holds an eight-point advantage over Sauber in the fight for eighth place. Oliver Bearman’s sixth-place finish contributed eight points to Haas’s total. With three races remaining – including a sprint weekend in Qatar – the battle for eighth in the championship remains tight.
