Nico Hulkenberg believes Sauber must “bring some new parts to Barcelona” after a difficult Bahrain Grand Prix, should the Swiss team want to score points on a regular basis.
Despite running in the top-10 at one stage, the highly rated German finished 12th after a difficult race which saw a him struggle after a miscalculated pitstop and a car that was short on speed.
“We are lacking speed and eat up the rear tyres”, commented a dejected Hulkenberg after the race. “It was a difficult and frustrating weekend.”
He also believes the miscalculated pitstop which lead him to pit later due to anticipated problems on low fuel also lost him a position.
“We pitted a bit too late because we expected to have more problems on low fuel, which in the end we didn’t have,” he continued. “That cost us at least one position.”
“This weekend clearly showed we need to bring some new parts to Barcelona in order to improve our speed and fight for points.”
Sauber’s team principal, Monisha Kaltenborn echoed her driver’s feelings and believes there was no reason for the team’s below-par performance today and praised Hulkenberg’s performance in difficult circumstances.
“We knew this track would be difficult for our car, but this cannot be an excuse. We can’t be satisfied with this race,” she said.
“Nico drove a good race, so it is now our job to provide him with a quicker car.”
Sauber has scored just five points in 2013, all courtesy of Hulkenberg and lies eighth in the constructor’s championship.
Despite running in the top-10 at one stage, the highly rated German finished 12th after a difficult race which saw a him struggle after a miscalculated pitstop and a car that was short on speed.
“We are lacking speed and eat up the rear tyres”, commented a dejected Hulkenberg after the race. “It was a difficult and frustrating weekend.”
He also believes the miscalculated pitstop which lead him to pit later due to anticipated problems on low fuel also lost him a position.
“We pitted a bit too late because we expected to have more problems on low fuel, which in the end we didn’t have,” he continued. “That cost us at least one position.”
“This weekend clearly showed we need to bring some new parts to Barcelona in order to improve our speed and fight for points.”
Sauber’s team principal, Monisha Kaltenborn echoed her driver’s feelings and believes there was no reason for the team’s below-par performance today and praised Hulkenberg’s performance in difficult circumstances.
“We knew this track would be difficult for our car, but this cannot be an excuse. We can’t be satisfied with this race,” she said.
“Nico drove a good race, so it is now our job to provide him with a quicker car.”
Sauber has scored just five points in 2013, all courtesy of Hulkenberg and lies eighth in the constructor’s championship.