Nico Hülkenberg: The team missed opportunities in the race

      Sauber’s drivers had hoped to fight for points in Zandvoort, but Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto finished fourteenth and fifteenth. The team dropped to eighth in the Constructors’ Championship, being overtaken by Racing Bulls.

      Nico Hülkenberg (14th): “Today we definitely missed opportunities. We need to analyze everything in detail, but a lot happened on track, and the safety car periods worked against us. Rivals got the chance to make a ‘free’ pit stop, while we fell back, which made the race even harder. I got stuck in traffic, which made it virtually impossible to achieve more.

      It’s frustrating, especially when our closest rivals are scoring points. Given how tight the battle in the Constructors’ Championship is, this result doesn’t help morale.

      Setbacks are part of the sport. It’s not the result we wanted, but the team will analyze everything, regroup and continue the fight in a few days in Monza.”

      Gabriel Bortoleto (15th): “A disappointing race. I had clutch issues at the start that caused me to drop back. We need to analyze everything and understand exactly what happened.

      I knew that after such a start I was in for a tough race. I feel that many opportunities were missed. My car sustained damage after contacts on track, and we were unlucky with the safety car.

      Congratulations to Isack Hadjar — it’s nice to see him on the podium. Overall not the easiest weekend for us, but that’s racing. We move forward and are already looking forward to the round in Monza next week.”