Upset F1 fans think £5.5m-a-year driver has the ‘worst car on the grid’ after Chinese Grand Prix onboard footage emerges

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The Chinese Grand Prix provided a clearer indication than the torrential conditions in Melbourne about what the pecking order of the grid could look like this season.

McLaren have a clear advantage over the rest of the field with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri having already both stood on the top step of the podium.

Max Verstappen is extracting the maximum performance out of a car that has become so difficult to drive that Liam Lawson is expected to be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda in time for the next race.

Mercedes appear to be consistently among the top teams while Ferrari have the potential to challenge McLaren when the car is sporadically performing to the best of its ability.

However, below these four teams, the midfield looks closer than ever, with every manufacturer except Alpine already off the mark.

Haas stood out as the stars in China after a terrible performance in Australia, while Racing Bulls have been hampered by their strategy calls; otherwise they would have a very strong points tally.

Unfortunately for Sauber, the promise they showed in Melbourne might have been a one-off, judging by the struggles of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto in China.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Sauber from team principal to 2026 Audi future

Nico Hulkenberg’s onboard footage shows how poor Sauber’s 2025 F1 car really is

A video emerged on social media of Hulkenberg’s start to the Chinese Grand Prix after qualifying P12.

The £5.5m-a-year driver manages to negotiate the first complex of corners before having to make a huge correction coming out of turn four.

He can’t keep his Sauber on the track and sees several cars overtake him, including Bortoleto.

On the radio, Hulkenberg swears before saying, ‘I almost lost the car there,’ and as he slides off the road at turn eight, his Brazilian teammate suffers an even greater lack of grip and heads off into the gravel.

Lawson, who started in the pit lane, is the final driver to pass him, and he continues to wrestle the car for the rest of the lap.

READ MORE: Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg’s life outside F1 from wife to height

F1 fans horrified after watching Nico Hulkenberg’s onboard footage from the Chinese Grand Prix

There were plenty of comments from fans underneath the video of Hulkenberg, with one stating, ‘Can’t even turn the corner.’

Another replied, ‘Turns like [a] tractor, sounds like [a] tractor… How was that even possible that he drove that P7 in Australia? Oh my…’

The German’s bad luck was pointed out in one response, ‘Hulkenberg has made the worst career choices in F1 ever, Alonso second,’ while a more hopeful fan said, ‘Hopefully, Audi bring a decent chassis to 2026.’

‘Easily the worst car on the grid,’ was the reaction of one user after watching Hulkenberg’s struggles, while another said, ‘Can see why his teammate went off too.’

The sympathy was pouring in for the 37-year-old with one fan starting, ‘Poor guy deserves a better team,’ and another pointed out, ‘You can even hear how much slower that car is compared to the others.’

A final comparison summed up Sauber’s struggles with one comment reading, ‘Welcome back 2014 Caterham,’ a car that failed to score a point with the likes of Kamui Kobayashi, Will Stevens, Andre Lotterer and Marcus Ericsson at the helm.

Sauber have serious work to do before Audi’s 2026 takeover

Hulkenberg exceeded expectations by delivering six points in Australia after benefitting from the tricky conditions that saw four rookies crash and several teams mistime their pit stops late in the race.

However, Sauber believe that wasn’t a fair reflection of their performance, and the first lap in China very much proves that.

Karun Chandhok thought Haas were missing Hulkenberg after their contrasting starts to the season in Melbourne, but he’ll probably be taking that back after Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman both scored points in China.

The arrival of Audi next year is the final roll of the dice for Hulkenberg as he looks to secure that coveted F1 podium.

It’s now clear that they have a huge amount of work to do between now and the start of next season if they want to be competitive.