The crucial tyre call that put Hulkenberg on course for Silverstone podium

Hulkenberg and Sauber got everything right as he converted P19 in qualifying to third place

After qualifying at Silverstone on Saturday Nico Hulkenberg was a little frustrated to be down in P19 on the grid after his session didn’t really come together.

However in Austria just the previous weekend he had started from 20^th and finished ninth to log points for the third race in a row.

When I asked him after qualifying if he thought he could make similar progress at Silverstone he conceded that it wasn’t necessarily a track where it was possible to do so.

“If you don't have the speed, if you don't have the pace, obviously, that's the key ingredient to make progress,” he said.

“And it doesn't seem so far even from the long runs that we that we're outstanding there, or as good as in the last couple. So let's see.

“Obviously, we'll keep fighting, we'll try our best. I suspect we're going to need some outside help….”

Some 24 hours later and that assistance had arrived, and then some. A great performance from both Nico and the team, perfect calls and a little misfortune for others saw him charge to an incredible third place, his first ever podium and the first for Sauber since 2012.

It was further proof that the team is making good progress towards its new Audi era under the management duo of Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley.

“I think he was almost in a state of shock when I saw him under the podium and chatted to him,” Wheatley said after the race when I asked for his reaction.

“I'm just trying to stay in the moment and enjoy it, rather than this relentless sort of merry-go-round that we're on to the next race and next race.

“Nico drove an outstanding race today, one of the best I've seen at Silverstone, one of the best I've seen of any driver ever. And it seems incredible to me that we're all celebrating a podium as it feels to me like he should have been getting them all his career.

“It seems to be the longest awaited podium ever. He showed his class today, didn't put a wheel wrong, and the team made all the right decisions in terms of strategy. We stayed out when we needed to stay out, and then switched to the medium at the right time, and I'm just very, very proud of everyone.”

P19 to the podium may have looked unlikely on Saturday, but Hulkenberg was given a huge helping hand when five cars were absent from the grid – including his own team mate – due to diving into the pits to change to slicks.

Then on the first lap he gained three places, two from the Ocon/Lawson tangle and another from Lance Stroll, before Kimi Antonelli went for slicks at the end of the lap.

Suddenly in P10, he was now in the fight. And the absolutely crucial move came just as the rain began to intensify.

Concerned by how his already worn intermediates would perform as the heavens opened, Hulkenberg pitted for new ones on lap nine, before any of the cars ahead.

“We had an eye on the weather that was coming, which I think is what everyone did,” said Wheatley.

“And then I think Nico just felt like his intermediate had just had it, so we boxed him at that point. It was absolutely the right decision.”

“Obviously, it was drying out,” said Hulkenberg. “The inter was wearing down, the first set from the start, but the team said there’s some rain about. It actually changed within one or two laps from a pretty bright sky to dark clouds and I was just dropping back.

“I was really struggling with that first set. They said the rain is coming, so I just dived into the pits, to be honest, without thinking too much at the time, and then went out and the rain started. It was really good timing.”

By the time everyone else had pitted he’d jumped to P5, behind only Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Lance Stroll, the latter gaining from a brief but spectacular stint on soft tyres.

Verstappen’s restart spin put him in P4, after that it was a matter of hunting down Stroll and passing him with DRS, and then later in staying clear of Lewis Hamilton.

Pitting for slicks later than the Ferrari driver, even with a slightly slow stop, gave him enough of a buffer to hang on to third.

“We waited, we kept our powder dry,” said Wheatley. “We weren't the first to go. We were watching very carefully what the other drivers did, and I think we got the timing right on that.

“It was very important to get onto the dry tyre at the right time, and not a bit too soon. And Lewis put us under pressure by boxing first, but we're just having a nice, calm conversation about what the right time to do it was. And I think that one lap made a difference.

"Honestly, some of us wanted to stay on another lap. I think the feeling on the pit wall was it was too soon. and that's why I'm so proud of the team today, the strategists and race engineers, Gabriel's race engineer was working with the team as well.

“It's not like he just folded his laptop down and went away. He was offering valuable advice. This team spirit here is building and building, and getting stronger and stronger.”

Regarding the choice of mediums rather than softs Wheatley added: “We were talking to Nico about the right tyre, and honestly, we were thinking whether it was the hard or the medium to go for. We weren't really considering the soft unless it was a bit later in the race.”

It all sounds pretty straightforward, but on a day when so many others got it badly wrong driver and team deserved the rewards they reaped.

“All the stops we made today, they could not have been better,” said Hulkenberg. “We pitted at the perfect time every single time, which is very rare and difficult to do. But it's just how it happened today, and we really hit that one on the head. Behind Lance, he was quick.

“We had very similar pace, but then on that set of Intermediates, he eventually was just degging off a bit more than me when the track dried out. So, it just took a while to find a way through.

“But I wasn't even really thinking about the podium there. We were running P5, I think P4 at the time, so it was already pretty good. I was just about keeping it going and making no mistakes.”

That was easier said that done, but Hulkenberg really showed his class. He’s spent his whole career in midfield team, so it’s easy to forget that he was a star on his way up the ranks, winning in A1 GP, F3 and GP2.

His one-off winning appearance with Porsche at Le Mans in 2015 was a rare chance for him to really showcase what he can do.

The relationship he established with then Porsche WEC boss Andreas Seidl led directly to him being signed by Audi, although Seidl himself was ousted before Nico arrived.

“I've considered him to be an extraordinary talent for a very long time,” said Wheatley. “And I think I've been consistent in saying that to everyone here. It seemed incredible to me that he's never achieved a podium in his career.

“I think he showed today what he's capable of, and I think also for him, it's a milestone. The monkey is off his back.”

Thirty five points in four races is quite a hit rate for a midfield team, and it’s propelled Sauber into P6 in the championship.

Williams still has a handy advantage in fifth, but the Grove team presents a obvious target over the second half of the season.

Given how difficult 2026 will be with the brand new Audi PU package ending the Sauber era on a high will help to propel the team through tough times ahead.

“I've talked about how important momentum is in a team,” said Wheatley. “And so really, for me, what I take it from today is people start believing in us. I can say the words. I can say we're gaining momentum. I can say we're putting performance on the car.

“I can say that Mattia and all the hard work he's been putting in before I came here is coming to light.

“But we've got a very long journey towards where we need to be as a team, and it's a great step on that journey.”