Nico Hulkenberg explained that his disqualification in Bahrain was as simple as too much plank wear on his floor, but added an additional headwind may have been a contributing factor.

The Sauber driver was disqualified after being found to have fallen below the 9mm minimum requirement on the plank on the underside of his car which, according to the FIA, the team acknowledged was a “genuine error” on their part.

Nico Hulkenberg: Bahrain GP disqualification ‘just one of those things’

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Hulkenberg’s plank width was found to be approximately 0.5mm below the legal requirement after the Bahrain Grand Prix, which prompted a swift disqualification, given its nature as a technical infringement.

In speaking about a shift in wind conditions, however, Hulkenberg explained that may have been a contributing factor towards the excess wear on his car, given the way a headwind “pushes the car down more”.

“I think it was a little bit too much wear, it’s as simple as that,” Hulkenberg said of his disqualification to media including PlanetF1.com in Saudi Arabia.

When asked if there was concern about his car in practice or ahead of the weekend, the Sauber driver clarified: “Not really, but I mean, it’s always that balance you need to find.

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“I think the headwind picked up a little bit for quali and the race, we had a headwind on the main straight, which obviously pushes the car down more. It’s just one of those things.”

Hulkenberg is already on the board for points in 2025, having earned a P7 finish at the season opener in Melbourne, but that remains Sauber’s only points finish to date this season.

With he and Gabriel Bortoleto having struggled to make it into the top 10 since, the German explained that, on merit, the team needs to have a “perfect” weekend in order to add to their 2025 tally, though added they are not too far from the rest of the midfield.

“I think we need things to come our way, and we need to be perfect, seamless, in every aspect – strategy, pit stops, all the execution bits,” he said.

“I think we’re not super far away, but it’s missing, probably a step from that. Again, I think it’s a little bit track dependent, and on conditions.

“We’re not far [away], but as everyone, we need to keep pushing. We need to keep finding and adding stuff, because everyone is doing [that].”

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