Sauber Boss Unconcerned by Hulkenberg’s Qualifying Deficit to Rookie Bortoleto

Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley has brushed aside any concerns over Nico Hulkenberg being regularly outqualified by rookie teammate Gabriel Bortoleto in 2025.

Bortoleto, last year’s Formula 2 champion, holds a 13–7 advantage in qualifying this season (11–6 excluding sprints) and has already reached Q3 on five occasions. While the stats suggest Hulkenberg is being overshadowed, Wheatley insists the 38-year-old is still performing strongly.

Hulkenberg finally ended his long wait for a Formula 1 podium at Silverstone, finishing third, and currently sits 10th in the championship—eight places and 19 points clear of Bortoleto.

“It’s a question I’m being asked more and more often now,” Wheatley admitted. “I personally don’t feel there’s any fundamental issue here. Nico is a tremendously experienced and fast racing driver. Many times he’s been outqualified by thousandths, hundredths—it’s not always a big thing.

“We spent years talking about how Nico had never been on the podium. We’ve done that now. I honestly think it’s just a transient thing. Gabriel’s fast as well. If one of them gets the lap right, one of them is going to outqualify the other.

“I think Gabriel’s certainly been at a run of circuits where he’s more familiar. With Nico, I don’t think there’s anything big to get over—he’ll just string it together.”

That familiarity has been crucial. Bortoleto has outqualified Hulkenberg at the last eight events, all on tracks he raced at during his F2 title-winning campaign: Austria, Britain, Belgium, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, and Azerbaijan. The Brazilian has steadily built momentum after a slower start to his rookie year.

Even when results haven’t followed, Wheatley has been impressed by the 20-year-old’s maturity.

“He’s wise beyond his years,” said the Sauber boss after Bortoleto finished 15th at Zandvoort. “He handled the debrief brilliantly after a very frustrating race. The way he’s developing, I couldn’t ask for more.

“He’s doing everything you’d want from a young driver—showing incredible maturity. And when the car’s capable of it, he delivers.”

For Wheatley, the story is less about Hulkenberg’s shortcomings and more about Bortoleto’s rapid rise. The rookie’s qualifying record has turned heads across the paddock, but Sauber are confident both drivers are delivering exactly what’s required.

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