Sunday: The Sauber was not fast enough for points
Nico Hülkenberg hoped to finish in the top 10 this afternoon in Belgium but the German driver did not have a car fast enough to achieve this goal. Esteban Gutiérrez, who started further back, had the same objective but due to a penalty, he finished quite far from the points.
Nico Hülkenberg – 13th:
« I was able to gain a few places at the start. It was tight but I managed well. I had a good first lap, but lacked pace almost from the beginning. The car was difficult to drive. We didn’t have a very good balance this weekend and during the race, and the tires degraded quite quickly. We had to pit earlier than expected. Overall, we lacked speed today. »
Esteban Gutiérrez – 14th:
« Compared to my starting position, I made progress and was smart about my attacking opportunities. It was mainly about finding the right balance between attacking and managing the tires, and I found this balance quite well. I focused on being as fast as possible while managing the tires and getting the most out of the car. We lost time in the first stint with traffic because I came out at the back of the pack. The planned strategy wasn’t ideal, so we had to change it, and it still wasn’t perfect. I fully respect the FIA’s decision to penalize me for overtaking Pastor, but I don’t agree with the penalty. Being able to fight and extract the maximum today is good. Now, we need to improve in qualifying because I believe that with the pace we have, we can still fight for the top 10. »
