The reason behind Hulkenberg retirement at Monza

German driver Nico Hulkenberg must have been in disbelief when, during the formation lap of the Monza Grand Prix, he was told to return to the pits. Not for a strategic change — but to retire the car before the race had even started. According to some sources in the paddock, suspicions were already raised on the grid when mechanics were seen swarming around the Sauber just 10 minutes before lights out. The issue? A hydraulic failure in the new power unit the team had installed specifically for this GP. The decision was made to withdraw the car in order to avoid risking severe damage.

During the installation lap, the team rapidly analyzed telemetry data coming from the power unit, hoping for a last-minute miracle. Unfortunately, it never came. The data from the ECU confirmed their fears, prompting the team to call Hülkenberg on the radio with the message that his Monza weekend had ended before it even began.

Here you can find a full recap of the 2025 Monza Gp: Monza GP: Verstappen ends McLaren’s dominance

New power unit failure

It was a bitter end to the weekend for Nico Hülkenberg, who had shown strong pace throughout practice alongside his teammate Bortoleto. The Brazilian eventually finished the race in P8, securing valuable points for the Swiss outfit.

Sauber is currently fighting for eighth place in the F1 Constructors’ Championship with a total of 55 points, and today’s race could have been a great opportunity to improve that tally. Hülkenberg was set to start from P12 on the grid and might have had a realistic shot at scoring points.

An interesting fact from the weekend involves the German driver himself — during Saturday’s qualifying, he recorded the highest top speed of the entire weekend. As highlighted by the official F1 graphics, Sauber’s car, equipped with the new power unit, reached an impressive 359 km/h at the end of Monza’s main straight. Ironically, it was the hydraulic system of that very power unit that would later force him to retire before the race even began.

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