Latest news with #Sauber
New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Belgian Grand Prix: Submit your questions for our F1 mailbag
The latest (and, hopefully, not last) race at Spa made us wait for it, but we got another interesting duel between the McLarens at the front on Sunday. Not to mention a comeback drive from Lewis Hamilton and a couple of strong points days for midfield teams like Williams and Sauber. What questions do you have for our F1 writers after the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix? And what did you think of the race? Ask and tell us below, and we'll do our best to respond in our weekly mailbag.
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Newsweek
FIA Issue Ruling on Hülkenberg and Stroll Pit Lane Collision
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg was handed a decision on his collision with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll. At the start of Q1 on Saturday, Hulkenberg lined up his car to get out quickly at the beginning of the session. He put one of his wheels in the fast lane as he waited for the car in front to make space. Stroll continued forward and made contact with the Sauber, resulting in front wing damage to the Aston Martin and prompting an investigation by the FIA. Nico Hulkenberg of Germany driving the (27) Kick Sauber C45 Ferrari in the Pitlane during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 25, 2025 in Spa, Belgium. Nico Hulkenberg of Germany driving the (27) Kick Sauber C45 Ferrari in the Pitlane during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 25, 2025 in Spa, Belgium. Photo byThe official found Stroll already had the right of way, and Hulkenberg was at fault for the collision, though no penalty was issued to either driver for the contact. In document 49 from the Belgian Grand Prix, the FIA gave its explanation of the events. "The Race Director's notes state 'any car driven to the end of the Pit Lane prior to the start... of a session must form up in a line in the fast lane and leave in the order they got there. "It is noted that the car will be considered to be in the fast lane when a tyre has crossed the solid white line separating the fast lane from the inner lane. In this context 'crossing' means that all of the tyre should be beyond the far the line..... "In this case, no tyre of Car 27 complied with the above prior to the start of the session, in which case, Car 18 is considered to have priority in the line. Therefore Car 27 should have merged into the line when there was a 'suitable gap' and in this case no such gap existed. "At all times the driver of Car 27 was following team instructions either by radio or hand signal from a team member. "Accordingly, Car 27 breached Article 34.8 and the penalty is applied to the team. "In relation to the subsequent collision that occurred, both cars appeared to move, under instructions from their team, at the same time and inadvertently collided. We consider that no driver was wholly or predominantly to blame and hence take no further action in relation to Causing a Collision." Belgium Grand Prix Qualifying Results Lando Norris (McLaren) Oscar Piastri (McLaren) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) Max Verstappen (Red Bull) Alex Albon (Williams) George Russell (Mercedes) Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) Esteban Ocon (Haas) Ollie Bearman (Haas) Pierre Gasly (Alpine) Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) Carlos Sainz (Williams) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) Franco Colapinto (Alpine) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) For more F1 news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Daily Mirror
Lando Norris secures pole position at Belgian GP as Hamilton faces setback
Lando Norris led a McLaren front-row lockout, denying teammate Oscar Piastri a double pole at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Aussie had dominated the Sprint race qualifying, but it was the Brit who excelled ahead of the main event at Spa-Francorchamps. This puts Norris in a prime position to attempt to close the gap to Piastri in the championship once more, following his victory at Silverstone a fortnight ago. However, as Piastri experienced in the Sprint, maintaining the lead on the first lap at this venue can be challenging due to the lengthy flat-out section after the first corner. Nevertheless, Piastri expressed his "disappointment" at missing out on pole. In contrast, Charles Leclerc, who finished third, seemed thrilled as he confessed he "didn't expect" to qualify so high with Ferrari struggling for speed. But, in the other red car, it was another brutal day for Lewis Hamilton who, for the second qualifying session this weekend, failed to make it out of the bottom five. His fastest lap time was deleted for a track limits violation which means the seven-time Formula 1 champion will start Sunday's race from 16th on the grid. Sign up to our free weekly F1 newsletter, Pit Lane Chronicle, by entering your email address below so that every new edition lands straight in your inbox! A farcical start to qualifying saw Nico Hulkenberg try to but into the queue that had formed at the end of the pit lane to begin the session, only to make contact with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll who was already in the fast lane. The Sauber driver needed a new front wing as a result of the damage, while the Canadian needed to return to the pits for his mechanics to fix some damage on his car. It may have had an effect on Stroll's efforts as he could manage only dead last place, one spot below team-mate Fernando Alonso as Aston Martin suffered a wretched session – both slowest overall. Kimi Antonelli was also disappointed to find himself 18th, having failed to make it out of the bottom five in both qualifying sessions at Spa-Francorchamps. Franco Colapinto was last for most of Q1 but at least managed to jump up to 17th with his final effort, while rookie Gabriel Bortoleto was handed a reprieve when Hamilton saw his best lap time deleted and was dropped to 16th, allowing the Sauber driver to progress. Bortoleto took full advantage with a strong performance in Q2 which booked his place in the top 10. His team-mate Hulkenberg, the podium hero of Silverstone two weeks ago, will have to pull off something special again if he is to score more big points after qualifying 14th, going faster only than Carlos Sainz in the second part of the session. Both Haas cars and Pierre Gasly in the Alpine were the other victims of Q2, while Bortoleto ended up settling for 10th on the grid. Racing Bulls marked another strong qualifying with Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson eighth and ninth respectively. Yuki Tsunoda showed a vastly improved performance to not only make it into Q3 but qualify seventh, giving himself a good chance to finally score well in his Red Bull. He is three places behind Max Verstappen, the two team-mates separated by George Russell in sixth and a very impressive performance from Alex Albon who ensured a top-five start in his Williams.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Lando Norris stars in Belgian GP qualifying as Lewis Hamilton suffers latest F1 nightmare
Lando Norris spearheaded a McLaren front-row lockout, denying team-mate Oscar Piastri a double pole at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Aussie had dominated qualifying for the Sprint race but, ahead of the main event at Spa-Francorchamps, it was the Brit who shone. It puts Norris in an ideal position to try to narrow the gap to Piastri in the championship once again, following on from his win at Silverstone two weeks ago. However, as Piastri saw in the Sprint, it is often tough to retain the lead on the first lap at this venue because of the long flat-out section after the first corner. Still, Piastri said he was "disappointed" to have missed out on pole. In contrast, third-placed Charles Leclerc sounded delighted as he admitted he "didn't expect" to be able to qualifying so high with Ferrari struggling for pace. A farcical start to qualifying saw Nico Hulkenberg try to but into the queue that had formed at the end of the pit lane to begin the session, only to make contact with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll who was already in the fast lane. The Sauber driver needed a new front wing as a result of the damage, while the Canadian needed to return to the pits for his mechanics to fix some damage on his car. It may have had an effect on Stroll's efforts as he could manage only dead last place, one spot below team-mate Fernando Alonso as Aston Martin suffered a wretched session – both slowest overall. Kimi Antonelli was also disappointed to find himself 18th, having failed to make it out of the bottom five in both qualifying sessions at Spa-Francorchamps. Franco Colapinto was last for most of Q1 but at least managed to jump up to 17th with his final effort, while rookie Gabriel Bortoleto was handed a reprieve when Hamilton saw his best lap time deleted and was dropped to 16th, allowing the Sauber driver to progress. ---
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Nico Hulkenberg: ‘F1 podium talk was cold coffee – but I'm not done yet'
In modern-day Formula One, there aren't too many narratives which could have compensated for Lewis Hamilton missing out on a Silverstone podium for the first time. Nor one which sparked more acclaim than Lando Norris winning his home grand prix. Yet Nico Hulkenberg's tense and glorious third-place finish last time out – ending the sport's longest podium-less streak, 239 races and no more – was just that. From last on the starting grid in P19, the German driver and his Sauber team, now pivotally led by ex-Red Bull guru Jonathan Wheatley, executed every call and nailed every pit-stop in the dry-wet chaos to leapfrog 16 cars and finish on the podium, staving off Hamilton in the process. A podium for Hulkenberg in a Sauber before Hamilton claims a podium for Ferrari? Nobody had that on their 2025 F1 bingo card. Hulkenberg's glistening beam as he stood on the podium, rather amusingly holding aloft a trophy made out of Lego, will be one for the season picture-book come December. It was, without a doubt, one of the stories of the year so far. 'It's confirmation of the hard work that the team is putting in,' Hulkenberg tells The Independent, amid a run which now stands at four point-scoring finishes in a row, heading into this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix. 'The update in Barcelona [round nine] has made a really big difference. It was a big turning point in our season. 'The magnitude of the step we've made is a surprise. It's really delivered. Before, it was difficult to do anything in races but now, it's very, very positive.' A Silverstone weekend which concluded with such unbridled joy for the 37-year-old, nicknamed 'The Hulk', started with a five-hour delay at Nice Airport due to air traffic control strikes, down the coast from his home in Monaco. As such, this one-on-one chat with Hulkenberg in the uniquely transparent Sauber motorhome, somewhat isolated at the far end of the Silverstone paddock, was delayed by several hours. Who knows what might have happened over the subsequent days had he not been asked for the umpteenth time about his excruciating podium-less run? Funny how things work out. 'It's not something I think about,' Hulkenberg says about the preceding 238 F1 race starts, which included 112 top-10 finishes, 608 points but astonishingly, zero podiums. The German even has a pole position to his name, taking advantage again of some wet weather in his rookie season at Williams in Brazil, back in 2010. 'I don't really care or pay attention to it [podium-less streak], it's cold coffee, honestly. We're all trying to chase the best possible result. We believe that crazy things can happen, with the weather or whatever. 'You've just got to be here and ready for it. And when the day comes, take it.' The foreshadowing is uncanny. For Hulkenberg, this 2025 mid-season surge represents the zenith of his career renaissance. Hulkenberg was brought up in Germany's most populous region, the North Rhine-Westphalia, in the city of Emmerich am Rhein on the Netherlands border. Yet quickly, his talent looked certain to cross boundaries. NICO HULKENBERG'S F1 CAREER (2010-CURRENT) Races: 239 Points: 608 Top-10 finishes: 113 Wins: 0 Podiums: 1 Pole positions: 1 Best drivers' championship finish: 7th in 2018 (Renault) Rated extremely highly as a youngster – in 2009 he became the third driver after Nico Rosberg and Hamilton to win GP2 (now F2) in his rookie year – F1 stints at Williams, Force India and Renault gave him the pinnacle class of racing he craved. In fact, former manager Willi Weber compared 'The Hulk' to fellow German Michael Schumacher, a seven-time champion of the world. His results in F1, as you will have gathered by now, were consistently impressive, without reaching stratospheric levels. Indeed, his only victory in this period was a stunning win for Porsche at the 24 Hours of Le Mans event in 2015. In doing so, Hulkenberg became the first active F1 driver to win the prestigious endurance race since Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot in 1991. But after nine years in F1, Hulkenberg was dropped at the end of 2019 and spent three seasons on the sidelines as a reserve. A second bite at the cherry, for most onlookers, did not seem forthcoming. Except, perhaps, for the man himself. 'My F1 comeback in 2023 is my biggest achievement to date,' he says, surprisingly, when asked if his Le Mans triumph was his best career accomplishment. 'As a result? Yes, sure, Le Mans. But now, to have this opportunity with Sauber and Audi next year and to still be here, keeping up with the youngsters, pushing to be in F1. 'I did need a break and a bit of a detox. It put a lot of things into perspective. But I had that feeling that I wasn't done yet. I had the desire to jump back in and be competitive again.' An understated figure in the current driver staple of social media stars and fashion icons, Hulkenberg is now one of the sport's senior men. Alongside Max Verstappen, he is one of just two fathers on the grid, with four-year-old daughter Noemi sometimes seen tottering around the garage in search of her dad. His rock-star spiky hair look is in deep contrast to his mellow tone; he is rarely one for exaggeration or hyperbole. Yet amid Sauber's current resurgence with Hulkenberg and F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto at the wheel, and with German giant Audi soon taking over the reins, an outfit so defeated last year looks very much revitalised under the guidance of Wheatley and ex-Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto, as we head into the second half of the season and new regulations in 2026. With the podium 'cold coffee' finally swallowed, there remains one obvious goal for Hulkenberg to crack. Now, the unwanted record is that he is the driver who has the most F1 races to his name without a victory. 'You always want to achieve more until you're winning,' he sums up. 'I haven't been there or done that. 'But in F1, it's not always easy. You need to be in the right spot with the right people. I'm in a big project now and it's a very exciting opportunity. 'Next year is a reset and offers an opportunity for every team. Audi are very serious whenever they enter any motorsport competition. Hopefully we can be a very big contender in the next few years. 'F1 is all about timing. For me, in my career, it hasn't clicked. Well, not yet.'
