Nico Hulkenberg's dramatic Silverstone podium gave Sauber one final day in the spotlight
FINAL CORNER, CHEQUERED FLAG: Hulkenberg's first ever F1 podium was a true feelgood story for all involved
Nico Hulkenberg grabbed the headlines at Silverstone for his stunning drive and first ever podium but it’s Sauber that deserve to share the glory with him.
The Swiss team are in their final year in the sport, with Audi set to take over in 2026. The Sauber name first entered F1 in 1993, even scoring points on debut with an impressive fifth place finish in South Africa. While they’ve never been able to contend for championships, and only have one race victory to their name (from their time as BMW Sauber), the outfit founded by Peter Sauber still have a creditable history in the sport.
There aren’t many privateer teams left, with Williams now owned by private equity, Red Bull developing their own engines and Sauber under the control of Audi, it’s really just Haas left standing. Eddie Jordan’s untimely passing earlier this year was symbolic of an era now long gone.
Sauber competed against the manufacturer giants and enjoyed a lot of great days in their over 30 years in F1. But the last decade has been quite tough on the team, and their 2024 campaign signified that it might not be a dignified ending. Valtteri Bottas ended the year pointless and Zhou Guanyu picked up a measly four, leaving them bottom of the constructors championship by some distance.
The decision to sack both team principal Andreas Seidl and chief technical officer Oliver Hoffmann in July of last year didn’t instil confidence that things would turn around quickly either. But 12 months on and Sauber have enjoyed a turnaround in form that has culminated in one last great triumph at Silverstone. It was hard to imagine Nico Hulkenberg ever getting on an F1 podium after over 200 races without any success. It certainly didn’t look likely at 3pm on Sunday either when he was 19th on the grid before the race started.
But a tremendous drive in difficult conditions saw him shoot up the standings and he found himself fourth after Max Verstappen’s spin when the race resumed on lap 21. He had the pace to not only overtake Lance Stroll for third, but also to fend off Lewis Hamilton in a charging Ferrari. All the accusations of him being a bottler were truly put to the test and the German passed with flying colours, easily bringing it home and reaping the rewards of being one of the few drivers to not put a foot wrong all race.
The celebrations at Sauber were a reminder of the wonderful stories that F1 can throw up. It was an unpredictable result that showed these smaller teams can still do great things. That it came after a string of strong performances also shows that these smaller teams can still turn things around when their form hits a bad slump, and it is now perhaps easier than ever before due to the budget cap and a stable rules set.
Without the budget cap, it’s hard to imagine someone of Jonathan Wheatley’s calibre jumping ship from Red Bull. Fans may recognise his voice from the radio conversations held with race control during the infamous 2021 season, but he is an F1 veteran, with a career stretching back even longer than Sauber’s time in the sport. He began his journey with Benetton in 1991, where he worked under Flavio Briatore.
It’s possible that things will have to get worse before they get better again for Wheatley’s staff, with the Briton now in charge as team principal after an 18-year stint as sporting director and team manager at Red Bull. Mattia Binotto, the current chief operating officer and chief technical officer, warned as recently as May that Audi will not have the best engine in 2026, hinting it might be a few years yet before the side are truly competitive at the top of the sport — surely Audi’s long-term ambition.
“We're focused on ourselves,” said the former Ferrari man. “We know that 2026 will not be the year in which we'll be at the top. We won't have the best power unit, but the path that has been taken is the right one, I'm confident.”1
Sauber will shed their underdog image once the German manufacturer takes full control of the squad next year, but it won’t take away from their final day in the sun. It had been almost 13 years since they were last on the podium with Kamui Kobayashi before Hulkenberg’s stunning result at Silverstone. No matter what else happens this season, it will be a great send off for a team that has rightfully earned its place as a significant part of F1’s history.
Prediction corner
The big news in F1 this week is that Christian Horner has been relieved of his duties at Red Bull effective immediately. A massive shock. I predict that we have not seen the last of him in F1, and that he will be back in the sport by the end of next year.
Quote of the week
“Alpine still manages to find a way to fuck me over all these years later,” said Oscar Piastri after coming second in Austria.
Race Review - Austria & Silverstone
The first 20 laps of the race in Austria were absolutely electric, and what we’ve been waiting to see between Lando Norris and Piastri all season. It did peter out as strategy got involved, with Piastri’s decision to extend the stint not quite working. The rest of the race was less dramatic, but there was still plenty of good racing further down the field. 3/5.
Meanwhile, the race at Silverstone was thrilling and unpredictable, giving us the most fun situation of changing conditions. It threw up some surprise results and gave us a big flashpoint in the championship. It is no coincidence now that the two best races of the season were both impacted by wet weather. 4/5.
Driver Power Rankings Championship - Austria & Silverstone
Norris was supreme under pressure and took a massive win for his championship hopes. Normally I would ding a teammate for “losing” in the same car as someone else, but Piastri put on a lot of pressure and showed he was on pace with his fellow McLaren driver despite this being a traditionally strong race for Norris.
Leclerc and Hamilton were not quite matched the same way but it was close enough that they both maximised the result for Ferrari. Bortoleto has split them here, with his first points adding an emotional element to a very good weekend from the Brazilian.
Lawson was also at the top of the midfield, and was much better than Hadjar in the other car, more weekends like that and he may remain in F1 after all. Alonso, Russell and Ocon all brought home some points with good drives, while Hulkenberg was solid but outshone by his teammate.
Austria ranking: 1. Lando Norris. 2. Oscar Piastri. 3. Charles Leclerc. 4. Gabriel Bortoleto. 5. Lewis Hamilton. 6. Liam Lawson. 7. Fernando Alonso. 8. George Russell. 9. Esteban Ocon. 10. Nico Hulkenberg.
If I was handing out extra points for best drives of the season then Hulkenberg would get the full amount, this was sensational under such immense pressure. Changing conditions, a chasing Lewis Hamilton behind and a run of 239 races without a podium. Pierre Gasly was almost just as good in the Alpine, with a fantastic qualifying performance setting up a great race and a much-needed good result for the team.
Lance Stroll didn’t particularly put a foot wrong, with good strategy getting him into a good points-scoring position, but Aston Martin’s lack of competitiveness saw him fall down the order a bit.
Lando Norris won his home race, but his victory came more from keeping things steady where others faltered, so his performance was somewhat out-shined by the fairy-tale stories of the midfield. Hamilton had his best race for Ferrari, while Piastri potentially had the better pace of the two McLarens but his error cost him a big win.
Carlos Sainz was unlucky not to score points and was the lead Williams throughout the race, while Fernando Alonso was let down by strategy after looking quite solid all weekend.
Alex Albon and Max Verstappen still brought home points despite their various issues.
Britain ranking: 1. Nico Hulkenberg. 2. Pierre Gasly. 3. Lance Stroll. 4. Lando Norris. 5. Lewis Hamilton. 6. Oscar Piastri. 7. Carlos Sainz. 8. Fernando Alonso. 9. Alex Albon. 10. Max Verstappen.
And here’s how those two races impact the DPR Championship standings as we now reach the halfway stage of the season:
Storyline to follow
There will be no race by the time the next scheduled edition of the newsletter comes out, so the main thing to focus on is the fallout of Horner’s dismissal at Red Bull. There’s no way we’ve heard the last of what’s going on behind the scenes at the team.
Source: Motorsport.com