Sep.8 (GMM) Nico Hulkenberg admits his rookie teammate Gabriel Bortoleto is more and more setting the tempo at Sauber.
The veteran German, who lastly scored his first F1 podium earlier this season at Silverstone, has trailed the Brazilian 10-6 in qualifying up to now this 12 months. At Monza, 38-year-old Hulkenberg might solely handle P12 whereas Bortoleto impressed with eighth.
“I believe there’s extra in it,” Hulkenberg mentioned. “I tousled the primary lap in Q3, which left me weak on the ultimate run. I needed to make up floor, which prices time.”
Nonetheless, Hulkenberg is beneficiant in his reward of Bortoleto, assisted into Components 1 by former supremo Bernie Ecclestone and managed by Fernando Alonso.
“He’s simply doing a very good job,” Hulkenberg admitted.
“He’s a machine – churning out laps like a printer that by no means runs out of ink,” he smiled. “He hardly makes errors, at the same time as a rookie. He’s on a steep studying curve, however he’s undoubtedly a driver of the long run.”
Bortoleto, 20, admitted he had been anxious about going up towards such an skilled teammate. “I actually thought, ‘That is going to be robust,’” he mentioned. “I’ve admired Nico since F2 and F3. I at all times thought, ‘That man is so quick.’
“This 12 months I knew I needed to push myself – to race for my life.”
Nonetheless, the 20-year-old Brazilian pressured the battle is nearer than it appears to be like. “Actually, it’s very shut in case you have a look at the information,” Bortoleto defined.
“The midfield is so tight this 12 months that each millisecond counts. We don’t ask one another for recommendation, however we have a look at one another’s knowledge. We each need the identical factor from the automobile, and that helps the group.”
At Monza, former Williams boss Jost Capito even referred to as Bortoleto “the very best rookie of the season” on Sky Deutschland.
In the meantime, group boss Mattia Binotto insists the Brazilian’s rise is not any fluke. “We’re thrilled to have signed him,” he informed La Gazzetta dello Sport. “It’s simple to say in the present day that he was good in F3 and F2, however we had been those who signed him.
“He’s a tough employee, very quick, and already confirmed. He’ll turn out to be a high driver.”
Binotto added that Audi, taking management of the group in 2026, is sensible about its first 12 months – once more with Hulkenberg and Bortoleto.
“We don’t anticipate nice issues, however the necessary factor is to develop and present progress. Nico is quick, constant and a job mannequin. Gabriel is studying calmly, with out stress. Collectively, they provide credibility to the venture.”
