Fernando Alonso has praised rival Nico Hulkenberg for his "superb" performance during the Korean Grand Prix.
The Sauber driver managed to keep Lewis Hamilton and Alonso at bay to take the chequered flag in a career-best equalling fourth place.
Hamilton put immense pressure under the former Force India driver during the final stint but couldn't find a way through. Alonso also spent a fair few laps staring at the rear wing of the Sauber C32 after losing places in the turn three chaos.
Discussing Hulkenberg's performance the double world champion said: "What Nico is doing is superb. He is driving very, very well and he deserved to be in front of us because he did a fantastic race."
He added: "They [Sauber] were very good this weekend and they are doing a very good job. They were in the top three in qualifying at Monza as well, so they are on a high at the moment."
Hulkenberg said it was "one of the best in his career" after the race, obviously delighted by the result. It has come at just the right time as speculation over who he will drive for in 2014 picks up once again.
Alonso believes that Pirelli's changed 2013 compounds have helped Sauber improve their performance: "When we changed to the 2012 tyres, there were some teams that had a penalty. We can see very clearly that Force India now are fighting to take some points. Sauber was out of Q1 before and now it has both cars in Q3, so this is a benefit."
It has certainly been a factor with Esteban Gutierrez performing strongly in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix and Hulkenberg racing to a strong fifth place at the Italian Grand Prix.
Sauber are now tied on points with Toro Rosso for seventh in the constructor's standings.
 |
| (c) Sauber F1 Team |
Hamilton put immense pressure under the former Force India driver during the final stint but couldn't find a way through. Alonso also spent a fair few laps staring at the rear wing of the Sauber C32 after losing places in the turn three chaos.
Discussing Hulkenberg's performance the double world champion said: "What Nico is doing is superb. He is driving very, very well and he deserved to be in front of us because he did a fantastic race."
He added: "They [Sauber] were very good this weekend and they are doing a very good job. They were in the top three in qualifying at Monza as well, so they are on a high at the moment."
Hulkenberg said it was "one of the best in his career" after the race, obviously delighted by the result. It has come at just the right time as speculation over who he will drive for in 2014 picks up once again.
Alonso believes that Pirelli's changed 2013 compounds have helped Sauber improve their performance: "When we changed to the 2012 tyres, there were some teams that had a penalty. We can see very clearly that Force India now are fighting to take some points. Sauber was out of Q1 before and now it has both cars in Q3, so this is a benefit."
It has certainly been a factor with Esteban Gutierrez performing strongly in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix and Hulkenberg racing to a strong fifth place at the Italian Grand Prix.
Sauber are now tied on points with Toro Rosso for seventh in the constructor's standings.
No comments:
Post a Comment