Sauber placed both cars into Q3 at COTA

The Sauber F1 Team showed a strong performance during qualifying for the United States Grand Prix in Austin. Both drivers qualified in the top ten, Nico Hülkenberg in fourth and Esteban Gutiérrez in tenth. The wind was a challenge for the engineers as well as the drivers. Nevertheless, everyone managed the situation well. Tomorrow the aim will be to score points.

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber C32 locks up under braking

Photo by: XPB Images

Nico Hülkenberg (Q3: 4th, 1:37.296 min): “I have felt comfortable with the car over the whole weekend, but it was a different story in Q1 and Q2, as the wind picked up compared to FP3 this morning. It was a tail wind out of turn one and, therefore, also sector one and a bit in sector two. It was tricky, because our car is pretty sensitive to wind. But we made a few changes to it and put it all together in Q3. I think this was the maximum today for us and I am happy with my lap. P4 is a good position to start the race from tomorrow.”

Esteban Gutiérrez (Q3: 10th, 1:38.034 min): “Overall it was a good qualifying. With the change of wind it was tricky to decide on how to warm up the tyres in order to get the most out of them. We discussed several strategies, but at the end we decided to do one out lap and then push. It was pretty challenging and it was not an optimal lap, but getting into Q3 is a good thing, especially here in Austin. With all the support we have here from the fans it’s great to have two Mexicans qualifying in the top ten.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “This is a fantastic qualifying result! It’s great that the team is able to continue its momentum, and with both cars. This puts us in an excellent position for the race tomorrow.”

Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering: “Today was difficult, especially in qualifying with the increased wind levels. The engineers and drivers displayed excellent awareness of the situation to ensure we got both cars into Q3. However, there are no points on a Saturday, so today is only part one. Now we need to ensure we deliver a strong result tomorrow.”

Sauber F1 Team