Bortoleto sees better days ahead for Sauber after Baku bummer

Gabriel Bortoleto is confident that brighter days are ahead for Sauber after last weekend’s challenging Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where the Brazilian rookie finished just outside the points in 11th position.

For the Swiss outfit’s drivers, the Baku blank was a stark reminder of their car's limitations on the track's punishing blend of long straights and hairpin squeezes.

Coming off a qualifying session where Bortoleto scraped into Q2 for P13 and teammate Nico Hulkenberg was left stranded in P17 in Q1, the team knew the odds were stacked.

But in a sport defined by resilience, Bortoleto emerged as the voice of unyielding belief, insisting the C45's true potential lurks just beyond Azerbaijan’s "tough" detour.

A Race of Razor's Edge and Relentless Focus

The 51-lap event through Baku's historic old town and Caspian Seafront was a high-wire act for the Sao Paulo native, whose ascent from karting prodigy to F1 rookie has been nothing short of meteoric.

Backed early by Fernando Alonso's management and fresh off back-to-back junior titles in F3 and F2, Bortoleto has already notched four top-10 finishes in his debut season – a tally that swelled hopes after Monza's breakthrough.

But Baku’s relentless walls demanded perfection, and even a clean run couldn't bridge the gap to the midfield pack.

“Definitely an intense race, very close to the walls at all times – you need to keep your focus level very high the whole race,” commented the 20-year-old rookie.

“I’m happy that we finished the weekend without any damage on the car and that we delivered everything the car had available.

“I really don’t think we could have finished P10 today. Hadjar finished in P10 and was [half a minute] ahead. It’s just not a weekend for us that we had the pace to fight with them.”

Despite the setback, Bortoleto remained confident for the future.

“I’m quite convinced that we can perform in other weekends,” he said. “We knew this was going to be a tough track for us. There are weekends where we can fight for it and weekends where we cannot, so it’s fine.”

Hulkenberg Hopes to Bounce Back

Hulkenberg, the grizzled veteran whose podium drought famously ended this year with Sauber, fared worse in 16th after a Q1 exit marred by a front-wing-shattering crash.

Stuck in the dirty air behind Aston Martin's Lance Stroll for much of the afternoon, the German dissected a race undone by early stumbles.

Asked whether early contact with Haas’ Esteban Ocon affected his race, Hulkenberg said: “No, not at all. That was just Lap 1 racing, I think neither of us had a problem after that.

“I just didn’t get off to the best first lap, lost two or three positions. I got two back actually at the restart, a nice move into Turn 3, a double whammy – that was quite nice and rewarding.

“So I had a long, long first stint behind Lance and unfortunately I couldn’t get him. We lost a lot of race time there and that was make or break. Then obviously no Safety Car, nothing happening, so eventually pitted and came out far behind.

“I think the pace at the end was good, but obviously the damage was done yesterday already and early in the race. [I need to] try to be better and cleaner next time around.”

• Read also: F1i Driver Ratings for the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

After Azerbaijan, Sauber remain eighth in F1’s Constructors’ Championship with 55 points, trailing Aston Martin on 62 and holding a narrow lead over Haas on 44.

But Bortoleto’s positivity signals that the Swiss outfit is aiming to bounce back in the coming rounds.

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