Friday: Hülkenberg carries Sauber all by himself
Once again, Nico Hülkenberg performs wonders at the wheel of his Sauber and aims for points in the race. Meanwhile, Esteban Gutiérrez never managed to find the right balance on his car today and spent the entire day at the bottom of the standings, feeling downcast after his excellent race in Japan.
Nico Hülkenberg – 9th and 14th:
« Today was quite a good Friday. No major dramas, stable weather, and a good session. We were able to work on the whole program, which is a good thing. We collected some good tire data, which is always the most important on Friday. Regarding performance on the medium tires, I am very happy with the car. However, we need to work a bit more with the soft tires to find the best practical solution with them. Tomorrow, I think we will be able to push to be in the top ten. »
Esteban Gutiérrez – 16th and 17th:
« It was a very complicated day. We tried to figure out exactly where we stood on the track, and it was quite difficult because the pace simply isn’t there, neither with a lot of fuel nor with little. I am not happy with how the car is behaving. I am not very confident at the moment. Obviously, I wanted to do my best to make everything work, but we are missing a lot. The most surprising was the lack of pace in the long runs. The tire degradation on the soft compounds was quite high but also on the medium tires, with which I wasn’t able to find the pace. We need to look into this issue now and see how we can improve the car. »
