Nico Hulkenberg said being eliminated in the first round of qualifying yesterday proved his “golden ticket” to his best result of the season so far.
The Sauber driver rose from 15th on the grid to claim fifth place in today’s race. He finished sixth on the road but was promoted one place by Max Verstappen’s penalty.
Hulkenberg said the result came about thanks to the update Sauber introduced this weekend, the timing of the Safety Car, and the fact his first-round elimination in qualifying left him with more fresh tyres for the race.
“Today everything just clicked,” Hulkenberg told the official F1 channel. “A good start: I had a mega first lap, made [up] a bunch of positions which was the foundation for the race.
“Afterwards, to be honest, just a good car. Good rhythm, good balance and harmony. The updates really paid dividends, which was very enjoyable and obviously great to see.”
Hulkenberg was already on course for his second points finish of the season before the Safety Car was deployed with 11 laps to go.
“Before the safety car it was obviously a P8, that was going to be that. And then obviously the Safety Car mixed up the race.
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“I think in the end being out in Q1 yesterday and having all new fresh tyres was the golden ticket in hindsight. So pretty ironic but paid off today.”
Hulkenberg gained his last position from Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver started the race with two new sets of tyres compared to the Sauber driver’s five, which Hulkenberg said shows his team are not a match for the front-runners yet.
“Lewis, I think he was on used soft, and I had still all-new because I was out so early yesterday. It just shows you what a difference it is between used and new. One lap takes a lot of energy and life out of the tyre.
“So that was obviously enjoyable but I think we’re not there really fighting with the big boys. But I think we made a big step in terms of fighting with other midfield teams.”
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