Nico Hülkenberg is renowned as a driver who excels in qualifications, but this season he is increasingly being outperformed by his rookie teammate Gabriel Bortoleto. Sauber team boss Jonathan Wheatley now responds to the remarkable figures and shares his perspective on the situation.
At present, Bortoleto leads with a 13-7 score in qualifications, and 11-6 if you exclude the sprints. In addition, the Brazilian has reached Q3 five times, while Hülkenberg has not managed to do so even once. This is surprising, as Hülkenberg was until recently praised for his strong qualifying rounds. However, Wheatley insists there is no cause for major concern. “It’s a question I’m getting more and more often,” the Brit admitted. “Personally, I don’t see a big problem. Nico is an experienced and fast driver. Often he is just beaten by thousandths or hundredths of a second – that’s not necessarily something to worry about.”
Wheatley certainly does not shortchange Bortoleto and is impressed by his maturity and consistency. “He does everything you would want from a young driver. And when the car allows it, he really delivers. I couldn’t ask for more in terms of how he is developing. I do believe that Gabriel has had some circuits where he has more experience, which makes it a bit easier for him.” Wheatley concludes: “With Nico, there’s nothing major to overcome – he’s just going to get it back on track.”
