Pre Race
Back in the US!
Howdy, folks! It’s Formula 1 week – and this time, Nico Hulkenberg and the rest of Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber have landed in Austin, Texas, for the United States Grand Prix. The Swiss team arrives at Circuit of The Americas looking to bounce back after a challenging race in Singapore and fight for a place in the top ten.
“Austin is always a highlight, one of my favourites on the calendar. The atmosphere, the fans, the track: it’s all good fun and it’s overall a great week. After some up’s and down’s in Singapore, we reset and put everything behind us, looking to extract everything from the car,” said Nico Hulkenberg.
It’s the fourth Sprint Weekend of the season, which means the drivers will already be in action on Saturday with a 100-kilometre Sprint Race in the afternoon. Straight after that comes Qualifying for Sunday’s Main Race.
“The Sprint format gives us less time to get everything together, but it’s the same for everyone, and we’ll be pushing to make every lap count, putting ourselves in a good place for both the Sprint and the main race,” the German added.
Let’s do it! Saturday’s Sprint Race goes green at 12:00 local time (GMT -5), while Sunday’s 56-lap United States Grand Prix gets underway at 14:00.
Wanna follow live? Watch all sessions on the official Formula 1 App.
Austin fun facts:
- No fewer than eleven different circuits (!) have hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix in the United States over the years, but today, Circuit of The Americas is the only purpose-built, permanent Formula 1 track in the country – and one of the newest on the calendar.
- The very first Formula 1 race at Circuit of The Americas in 2012 made history, as it was won by Lewis Hamilton – the Briton’s last victory for McLaren. Hamilton later claimed four more wins in Austin with Mercedes, making him the most successful driver at the circuit.
- Designed by the renowned architect Hermann Tilke, the track features a mix of corner sequences inspired by some of the world’s most iconic circuits – such as Silverstone’s high-speed Maggotts-Becketts corners and Hockenheim’s legendary stadium section.
Qualifying
Ready to bounce back!
Update from Circuit of The Americas and the United States Grand Prix, where it’s been an action-packed and mixed weekend so far for Nico Hulkenberg. The Admin By Request-powered driver came out flying on Friday, securing an impressive P2 in the weekend’s only practice session before storming to a superb P4 in Sprint Qualifying – only to see his strong pace go unrewarded after being caught in a sandwich collision shortly after the race start…
“The sprint was pretty much over after the incident in Turn 1, which was frustrating because it compromised the whole race and ended our chance of a good end result. It was good to get straight back in the car in the afternoon to reset, get it out of the system, and focus on qualifying,” Nico Hulkenberg said.
After an efficient effort by the team in the garage, the German race ace went on to take part in Qualifying for the main race, where he clinched a solid P11 for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
“This is an amazing track to drive, and overall qualifying was decent. Unfortunately, the final lap was not as clean as it needed to be. I struggled a bit in the last sector where I hit some wind gusts, ultimately losing some time there. Starting from P11 tomorrow means we’re close to the points on a track where overtaking is possible,” he added.
All eyes are now on Sunday’s 56-lap showdown at Circuit of The Americas – lights out at 14:00 local time (GMT -5)!
Race Day
“The team deserves this result”
Points in the bag for Nico Hulkenberg, who delivered a strong comeback at the United States Grand Prix by finishing Sunday’s main race in P8 – gaining three positions from his starting spot. It’s a great result for the German driver (and Admin By Request ambassador) after a disappointing Sprint Race on Saturday, where a P4 start turned into an unfortunate crash in the first corner.
“I’m really happy to finish the race with points. We’ve shown great pace all weekend, right from FP1. With the incident in the Sprint yesterday, we didn’t get the chance to show what we could do, so it felt great to have another shot today. The race was clean, well-executed on multiple fronts, and we were determined to make the most of it. The whole team deserves this result for the work they’ve put in. Now onto Mexico!” said Nico Hulkenberg.
The four points collected over the weekend lift the team’s total to 59 – surpassing the 57 points achieved in 2022 and setting a new benchmark for the team in the hybrid era. And we won’t have to wait long to see The Hulk back in action – the Mexican Grand Prix takes place already next weekend, on October 26.
📸 Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber
