‘Not our day, not our race’: Sauber’s pointless Singapore weekend

The neon glow of Marina Bay couldn't mask the frustration etched on the faces of Sauber's drivers as they trudged away from another points-less weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix.

In a race defined by on-track skirmishes on Marina Bay’s unforgiving street-circuit, Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto emerged battered and empty-handed – Hulkenberg propping up the rear in P20, Bortoleto salvaging a grim P17.

For a team eyeing an Audi-powered resurgence in 2026, this 62-lap slog was a brutal reminder of their current struggles, where even a clean run might not have cracked the top 10.

Early Drama Ends Bortoleto’s Points Ambitions

The drama ignited shortly after it was light out, with Bortoleto caught in a classic opening-lap melee that turned ambition into agony.

Squeezed three-wide into Turn 1, the Brazilian's Sauber clipped Lance Stroll's Aston Martin, shattering his front wing endplate and sapping precious seconds from his early laps.

Forced into an early pit stop on Lap 14 for repairs and fresh rubber, Bortoleto nursed his wounded machine through a marathon stint, only to watch tyre degradation devour his grip in the closing stages.

"What happened in Turn 1 was unfortunate, three-wide into one, sometimes I think these things happen," said Bortoleto, chalking it up to the unpredictable ballet of wheel-to-wheel combat.

"I don't think it's anyone's fault there, it's just racing and unfortunately we ended up touching, broke the endplate and because we lost a lot of lap time in that first stint the gaps were pulled away in that moment.

“From there on I think our race was a bit gone and then we pitted for changing the front wing and tyres and we ended up staying very long in the race and degradation was quite high for us, so no tyres at the end."

It marked the second straight race without points for the 20-year-old, whose blistering junior career had painted him as Sauber's next big hope. Yet in the unforgiving F1 cauldron, where every touch spells trouble, Bortoleto's debut season continues to blend promise with punishing reality.

Hulkenberg Frustrated by Contact and Strategy Struggles

If Bortoleto's woes were scripted in the sprint's frenzy, Hulkenberg's unraveling unfolded like a slow-burn thriller gone wrong.

The veteran German, chasing track position in the race's lower tier midfield, tangled with Franco Colapinto's Alpine, caught out by what he described as unusually early braking from the Argentinian at Turn 7.

The contact sent Hulkenberg into a high-speed spin that the Sauber nearly kiss the barriers.

“I don't know what Franco was doing,” Hulkenberg said.

“He braked really early, so that was obviously a bit of a surprise, but then when we get close I lost a lot of rear downforce. The rear axle locked up instantly and obviously it spun me around.”

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Hulkenberg eventually brought his car home 20th and last of the finishers, calling it a night to forget for both himself and the team.

“Not our day, not our race, [it's] fair to say,” he admitted.

“If you don't have track position it's very difficult with our car and I think generally on the street circuit where you saw overtaking, how almost impossible it is today unless you have a huge tyre delta.

“And by pitting late we lost more positions and have to review that a little bit the strategy.

“Of course, [it's] a little bit of a missed opportunity but I also feel we didn't really have an amazing pace [or] should have been well into the points.”

Between Bortoleto’s first-lap contact and Hulkenberg’s mid-race spin, the team never looked like threatening the top ten.

Both drivers acknowledged that while poor luck played a part, the FW24 simply lacked the pace to compete in the tight, technical confines of Marina Bay.

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