Pre Race
All set for Shanghai ✨💫
After a strong season opener with a 7th-place finish in Melbourne, Nico Hulkenberg is ready for a new challenge as the Chinese Grand Prix takes place this weekend in Shanghai! The German KICK Sauber F1 Team driver and Admin By Request ambassador is looking forward to the event, which also marks the first of this season’s six Sprint Weekends.
“Starting the season with points in Melbourne was a great result for the team, giving us positive momentum heading into China. Sprint race weekends bring an added level of intensity and introduce a unique dynamic. Immediately after the sprint, you have to re-focus and concentrate on qualifying for the main race,” says Nico Hulkenberg.
“Our approach here in Shanghai remains the same – we need to make the most of every session throughout the weekend, gathering as much information as possible. Shanghai is a track I have enjoyed racing on in the past. The goal is to be competitive from the very start, execute our weekend well, and keep pushing forward,” the German adds.
The weekend’s first practice session and Sprint Qualifying took place on Friday and will be followed by the Sprint Race (11:00 local time) and Qualifying for the Grand Prix on Saturday. Sunday’s 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix will begin at 15:00 local time (GMT +8).
Want to follow the action live? Watch every session on the official Formula 1 App.
Three Fun Facts about Shanghai
- Completed in 2004, the 5.5km Shanghai International Circuit is designed to resemble the Chinese character for ‘shang’ (上), meaning ‘upwards,’ ‘above,’ or ‘ascend.’ The first Formula 1 race at the circuit was won by Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello.
- The circuit is built on old rice fields – it took around 3,000 workers 18 months to construct the Hermann Tilke-designed track.
- In the race paddock, each of the Formula 1 teams is given its own building (!), arranged like pavilions in a lake to resemble the ancient Yu Garden in Shanghai.
Qualifying
Ready to kick back in China!
Great news from the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, where Nico Hulkenberg made it into Q2 and placed his Sauber 12th on the starting grid for the Grand Prix, narrowly missing out on Q3 in an exceptionally close field. The qualifying marked a positive comeback after a challenging Sprint event earlier in the weekend, where the German driver started from the pit lane due to changes made to his Kick Sauber C45 after qualifying, and finished the race in 19th place.
“Finishing 12th in qualifying was probably close to the maximum we could achieve today. My final lap in Q2 wasn’t perfect, with the windy conditions causing a small mistake in sector one, which likely cost me a shot at Q3. However, I’m pleased with P12 this afternoon, as the connection with the car was the best I’ve had all weekend,” said Nico Hulkenberg.
“It was a great team effort to come back from a difficult Sprint, and we made some good changes to improve the car. Tomorrow is going to be a challenging race, but we’ve given ourselves a good chance to be in the fight,” the German added.
Well fought, Nico! We can almost smell the points 😇 Sunday’s 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix will begin at 15:00 local time (GMT +8).
Race Day
“We’ll focus on the next one in Japan” 😮💨
After finishing an impressive P7 in the season opener last week, today was a day to forget for Nico Hulkenberg, as the German Formula 1 driver finished 18th in the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit. Hulkenberg started the race from P12 after a strong qualifying session on Saturday but suffered damage to his KICK Sauber C45 shortly after the race began.
“It’s been a character-building day for us. Unfortunately, right after the start, I went wide in Turn 1 and then almost lost the car in Turn 3 when I went off track through the gravel. I lost a couple of positions in that moment but, more frustratingly, I picked up substantial damage to the floor of my car, which significantly affected the aero balance,” said Nico after the race.
“The positive takeaway from today is that we finished the race and gained valuable mileage to better understand the new car. It’s still early days, and I’m already looking forward to going again in Suzuka in two weeks’ time.”
Tough luck, Nico — you’ll come back stronger! We can’t wait to see you back in the car for the Japanese Grand Prix on April 4–6.
