Nicღo Hulkenberg delivered Sauber’s best Formula 1 result in three years in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, but his performance went under the radar.

Hulkenberg capitalওised on Sauber’s inspired strategy calls to finish just three seconds off the podium in fifth, a remarkable achievement for a driver laden with the slowest car i🐻n the 2025 F1 season.

The weekend got off to a rocky start for 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Hulkenberg as he failed to get out of Q1 in qualifying on Saturday. It was the fifth time in nine race weekends that he was outpaced by his rookie teammate Gabriel Bortoleto over a single lap,💛 and with the Barcelona track known to be notoriously d🅺ifficult for overtaking, his prospects for Sunday looked rather bleak.

But with the way the race panned out, his Q1 eliminati🦩on actually t✅urned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Starting 16th on the grid, Hulkenberg made a clean start and used the escape road at 🎀Turn 1 to avoid contact, climbing up to 11th by the end of an impressive opening lap.

On the following tour, he drove past the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Aston Martin of 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Fernando Alonso, propelling his Sauber inside the points.

“There was a car coming sliding across so both Gabi and I had to avoid turn two and avoid some car, I'm not sure who it was,” Hulkenberg explained. “Had a bit of fight with Fernando also, I think for one or tওwo laps, but wrestled him down in the end. That was good.”

Sauber pulled the trigger early on strategy, bringing Hulkenberg in on lap 9 to cover Haas’ 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Oliver Bearman, who had been running 14th at the time.

In a 66-lap race and on a ♎high-degradation circuit like Barcelona, this would have meant completing the race on a three-stop strategy.

However, the German drove brilliantly in the middle of the race to eke out 36 laps out of his medium tyres, delaying his second pitstop until lap 45. For reference, race winner 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Oscar Piastri made his two planned pitstops on laps 22 and 49 ꦰrespectively.

Hulkenberg’s strategy allowed him to avoid losing time getting lapped by the frontrunners and once the second round of pitstops shook out, he was up to ninth place, ahead of Alpine’s 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Pierre Gasly.

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Kimi Antonelli’s mechanical-induced retirement removed one driver in front from the equation, while also prompting a safet▨y car intervention.

This is where Hulkenberg’s Q1 exit actually benefitted him, as he 𒆙had a set of extra soft tyres at h✱is disposal.

With the benefit of fresh rubber, Hulkenberg breezed past the Racing Bulls of 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Isack Hadjar at the restart on lap 61, before setting off after seven-time champion 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton.

With just two out of 66 laps to run, the 37-year-old used the assistance of DRS to overtake Hamilton, creating an unfamiliar sight of a Sauber passing a scarlet red Ferrari.

“He only had a꧙ used soft left,” Hulkenberg explained. “That's what you see even though he's in 💯a Ferrari with how important and how powerful the tyres are. He was just sliding around a lot and I had new boots which made all the difference.”

Hulkenberg went on to cross the finis𝓡h line in sixth place, which became fifth after Verstappen’s 10-second time penalty was applied.

“It was a great r🅘ace, just one of them races where everything seemed to click and work🍸 out,” he explained.

“Beautiful when it haꦫppens, doesn't happen that often, unfortunℱately, but today it did.

“Having all these new tyres, being out in Q1, actually was really useful and helpf🐬ul today.

“From 16th to have the start in lap one that I had, it kind of immediately reset the race and then put us into the fight for a good result🌟.

“Obviously the late safety car and then having another set of softs did the rest of it. So very happy and obviously we t🔥ake that. But, you know, that's just if you bring updates and performance that works, you know, you can help yo🔯urself.”

Sauber introduced a substantial update package in Barcelona, bringin🃏g a new front wing, floor and engine cover.

While it was expected that a new technical directive restricting the 🍨amount of front wing flexing would close the field up, Hulkenberg believes the updated C45 was simply more competitive in the Spanish GP.

“To be honest I think it's more the updates,” he said. Maybe it's the technical TD, the flexi wing stuff that others paid more of a price than us because honestly, I feel fo♈r us it didn't change that much.

“I don't feel much different in high speed and to be honest high speed so far hꦕas been not our strongest point so I tend to believe it is the update.”

Fifth place in Barcelona, with Bortoleto ending up on the cusp of points in 12th, was an incredible result for a team that hasn’t been anywhere close to finishing inside the top 10 since Hulkenberg’s br♑illiant drive to seventh in the wet conditions in Australia at the very beginning of the season.

The Hinwil based squad ꦰlast secured a top-ꦺfive finish at the Emilia Romagna GP in 2022, when it was operating under the Alfa Romeo banner.

“It's obviously a very sweet moment,” 𝐆said the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours winner.

“Second time with points this year but only since Melbourne, it's o🔥bviously been a bit of a dry patch.

“It's been difficult but I believe it puts us ✅more🌟 on the map in the midfield fight. We've found the connection to that train.

“In quali, things are very tight and everything needs to be right, but I feel like in the races hopefully we can be there and push into♈ it and fight with all these other guys more.”