Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley has insisted that P6 in the constructors' championship is still in the "realms of possibility" despite a tight fight in the middle of the standings.
The Mexico Grand Prix resulted in a 10th-place finish for Gabriel Bortoleto and a retirement for Nico Hulkenberg.
With four rounds remaining in the 2025 season, which include two sprint races, Sauber sits ninth in the standings with 60 points. Only 12 points separate the Swiss-based team and Racing Bulls in sixth, with Aston Martin and Haas in between.
"So let's look at the points table first of all. So Haas took a big chunk out of us today in the championship. Knocks us down to P9, as I sit here today," Wheatley explained after the race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
"But the margins are really close in the points. One good weekend can swing it in a completely different direction. Genuinely, mathematically, P6 isn't out of all realms of possibility."
After walking away from the Mexico Grand Prix with just one point, Wheatley remained positive about the gains the team is making every weekend.
"We talked before about how well you have to execute every race because the margins are so close," he continued. "And I think for a young team that's growing and knitting together, we're doing a reasonable job of that at the moment. And I can feel the continuous improvement.
"I can feel the gains every race weekend. But we're still punching against teams that are really established and have got strong engineering teams that have been working together for a long time.
"So I love it. It's a championship. We're in the hunt. And I'll never give up until it's mathematically impossible."
McLaren's Lando Norris claimed the lead of the drivers' championship with his victory in Mexico from pole position. Joining the Briton on the podium were Charles Leclerc in second and Max Verstappen in third.
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