Hulkenberg in crisis? Recurring question chases Sauber

“It’s a question that I’m being asked more and more often now. I personally don’t feel there’s any fundamental issue here,” Wheatley said after the race in Baku.

Bortoleto has shown strong progress this season. Including Sprint Shootouts, he now leads the qualifying head-to-head 13-7 against Hulkenberg and has started to edge him in race results as well, cutting deep into the German’s lead to 10-9, Sprint results included.

At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a tough outing for Sauber overall, Bortoleto finished P11 just outside the points, while Hulkenberg came home in P16, illustrating the rookie’s recent consistency.

Wheatley downplayed the results, suggesting track familiarity may have played a role. “Gabriel has certainly been at a run of circuits where he’s more familiar with. With Nico, I don’t think there’s anything big to get over. He’ll just string it together,” he said, emphasising that Hulkenberg’s experience and pace remain intact.

Despite it all, Wheatley is convinced that Sauber is taking all the right steps to prepare itself for the upcoming transformation into Audi next year.

With Mattia Binotto as CTO and COO, and Wheatley in his role as team principal, the German manufacturer hopes to join the big names at the top, with the Italian setting 2030 as the deadline for the team’s first Championship bid.

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