Bortoleto " extracted everything we could from our package" to score points for Sauber
Having scored points for the second time in his F1 career, Gabriel Bortoleto conceded that he "extracted everything we could from our package" at Spa-Francorchamps.
Sauber endured a successful weekend in Belgium. Starting from the top ten, Gabriel Bortoleto looked competitive in race trim as well. Although he had set his sights at the Racing Bulss of Liam Lawson, he could not quite catch the Kiwi, but held onto a comfortable P9 to score two championship points.
The Brazilian commented: "I'm happy to have made it back into the top ten today. The conditions were quite challenging – a wet start and then the track drying up always make things unpredictable – but we stayed focused, made the right calls, and managed to bring the car home in P9.
"Overall, I'm happy with how the race went: I feel we extracted everything we could from our package. Our pace has been solid all weekend, and that’s a credit to the whole team for giving me a car that felt good in every session. Of course, as a driver, you always want to be fighting higher up the grid, but this was a solid result and another decent step forward.
"We scored two more points, and that gives me an extra confidence boost heading into the next round in Budapest in just a few days. I feel we are moving in the right direction, and I’m excited to keep pushing and wrap up the first half of my rookie season on a high."
His team-mate Nico Hulkenberg found himself also in the points initially, but he opted to roll the dice and pit a second time. He picked off Yuki Tsunoda late on, but ran out of time to climb back into the points.
"It turned out to be quite an unusual race right from the beginning – waiting over an hour after the first formation lap for the weather conditions to improve.
"Missing out on points at the end by just a second is obviously disappointing. We had to make a second stop with around 11 laps to go – my front tyres were dropping off significantly, and I was struggling with front locking and understeer.
"Staying out wasn’t really an option, especially with our higher downforce setup compared to Pierre Gasly behind, who was running lower downforce. We therefore opted for the stop and tried to fight back, but unfortunately it didn’t quite work out. That said, our pace was decent and we made progress.
"Gabi picked up some valuable points, which is important for the Constructors’ standings. Once again, we showed we’re competitive in the midfield, and that’s a positive takeaway as we head to Budapest next weekend."
