Overview

• Team principal Jonathan Wheatley says there is no fundamental issue behind the head‑to‑head and describes the pattern as transient.
• Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto leads Nico Hulkenberg 13–7 in qualifying this season, or 11–6 excluding sprints, with an eight‑race streak spanning Austria, Britain, Belgium, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy and Azerbaijan.
• Bortoleto’s prior F2 experience on many 2025 tracks and five Q3 appearances are credited for his one‑lap edge, with Wheatley praising the 20‑year‑old’s maturity and debrief discipline.
• Despite the qualifying trend, Hulkenberg remains stronger on Sundays, sitting 10th in the standings after a British GP podium and leading Bortoleto by eight places and 19 points.
• Recent form highlighted by F1i notes Bortoleto’s 14 points from three top‑10s as Sauber fights in a tight midfield, with the team eighth in the constructors and focused on consistency.