Nico Hülkenberg says that he did not expect to keep Red Bull driver Max Verstappen behind in the Sprint race for the Qatar GP.
The German had a strong start to the weekend at the Lusail International Circuit. The pace in the sole practice session looked good.
In the Sprint qualifying, Hülkenberg showed a great performance under pressure. He got through into SQ3 and finished in a strong P9, just behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
In the sprint on Saturday, the 37-year-old had a good start and jumped into seventh position as Gasly and Verstappen lost out.
He stayed in that position until the end, while Verstappen overtook Gasly eight laps into the sprint. This helped Haas and Hülkenberg due to the championship.
”It’s always a nice feeling to get points already on a Saturday, which you know, is not kind of normal for us, or a given. So, happy to take them,” Hülkenberg told F1 TV after the Qatar GP Sprint.
The German had a strong and consistent pace throughout the sprint. Looking at the lap times compared to Verstappen after his overtake on Gasly, he was on lap time average on par with the Red Bull driver.
According to data gathered by Pit Debrief, the difference was 0.010 seconds in favour of the Dutchman.
“I think a competitive race,” Hülkenberg added. “The pace was strong and solid. I didn’t expect to be able to keep that Red Bull behind, that is a bit of surprise, but a nice one.
”All to play for in this evening and tomorrow again.”
Qualifying for the Grand Prix on Sunday is coming up and Hülkenberg could once more carry his VF-24 into the final segment. Haas is now two further points clear of Alpine, who sit right behind them in the constructors standings.
