2025 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix Highlights

Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber experienced a challenging  2025 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, with both drivers encountering setbacks that prevented a strong result. Gabriel Bortoleto’s race was compromised early on after he spun into the gravel, forcing him to pit at the end of lap one for a fresh set of tyres. Meanwhile, Nico Hülkenberg sustained significant damage on the opening lap, which severely affected his performance for the remainder of the race.

Now that the Shanghai weekend is behind them, the team shifts focus to the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix, with plans to use the break to assess key learnings. The goal is to return to competitive form and re-enter the points battle ahead of the demanding triple-header that lies ahead.

Nico Hulkenberg, Driver, Kick Sauber F1 Team

Today has been a real character-building day for all of us. Unfortunately, right after the start, I went wide in Turn 1 and then nearly lost the car in Turn 3 when I ran off track through the gravel. That cost me a couple of positions, but more frustratingly, I picked up significant damage to the floor of the car, which severely impacted the aero balance. Despite that, I think our pace wasn’t too bad, considering the damage we had to carry. The silver lining from today is that we finished the race and gained valuable mileage, which allowed us to familiarize ourselves with the new car further. It’s still early days in the season, and I’m already looking forward to getting back out there in Suzuka in two weeks’ time.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Driver, Kick Sauber F1 Team

Today was definitely far from an ideal race. After Lap 1, it was all about recovery and trying to gather as much data as possible about the car’s performance. Although our position wasn’t where we wanted it to be, it was beneficial to be able to continue and finish the race, especially as it was my first full-dry race. I took it as a valuable opportunity to learn more about tyre management and gauge our pace while also understanding how we compare to the others. It’s hard to say where we might have been with a cleaner race, and I definitely wanted this weekend to be more positive. But it is what it is—we now move forward, head back to the factory, and thoroughly analyze the lessons learned from these first two races. We’ll prepare for Suzuka, and I’m genuinely excited about racing there. I’ve spent a lot of time practising on the simulator, and I can’t wait to experience the real track finally.

Beat Zehnder, Director Signature Programs & Operations, Kick Sauber F1 Team

It’s truly unfortunate that our race was largely decided in the opening lap. Nico experienced a significant snap in Turn 3 and nearly spun, but he managed to save it. Unfortunately, in the process, he ran over the kerb and gravel, which caused a substantial loss in aerodynamic performance, as revealed by the telemetry. This made the race extremely challenging for him. However, Nico deserves credit for bringing the car to the finish despite these difficult conditions. Gabriel also faced challenges early on. After a close battle with Bearman, he lost downforce and spun, which cost him a lot of time and forced an early pit stop for new tyres. From that point on, it was always going to be a struggle to recover. On a more positive note, Gabriel’s pace during the final stint on hard tyres was impressive, matching the pace of our direct competitors. The key takeaway from today is that both cars finished the race, our overall performance throughout the weekend was encouraging, and our operations ran smoothly—even with the added complications from yesterday’s incident in the Sprint race. That said, there is still much work to be done. The field is incredibly tight, and every small improvement counts. The team that can bring those extra tenths to the track first will hold the advantage, so we must keep pushing relentlessly.

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