As Sauber prepares the team for the fast-approaching Audi era, Nico Hulkenberg could slot in alongside a rookie teammate for F1 2025.
And the driver is the 19-year-old Brazilian and current McLaren junior, Gabriel Bortoleto.
Bortoleto has built an impressive resume in the junior categories, with his greatest achievement to date winning the 2023 Formula 3 championship. Now he is revealed in the race for the Formula 2 title, most recently second in the championship standings. win an F2 race in Austria and 3 more P2 places.
Bortoleto will emulate the feat of current McLaren F1 driver Oscar Piastri, who won the F3 and F2 titles in back-to-back seasons.
However, its immediate future probably depends not on McLaren’s F1 set-up, but that of Audi, as the iconic German logo prepares to take over from Sauber in time for its arrival on the 2026 F1 grid.
According to Formu1a. uno, Bortoleto is thought of as via new Audi F1 boss Mattia Binotto as he searches for Hulkenberg’s long-term teammate. With just one seat left, current Sauber drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu know that at least one of them will be shown the door at the end of F1 2024.
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It’s a time of big change for the team, following the huge news that former Ferrari team principal Binotto has replaced Andreas Seidl as head of Audi’s F1 project, with president Oliver Hoffmann also absent.
The review did not stop veteran Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley from signing on as team boss to manage Audi F1 operations under Binotto.
Audi explained that the decision to bring in Binotto was aimed at creating independence for its F1 team from the main structure.
“Our goal is to bring the entire task of Formula 1 to the point of F1 through transparent control structures, explained responsibilities, reduced interfaces and effective decision-making processes,” explained Gernot Döllner, CEO of Audi.
“To do this, the team will have to be able to act independently and quickly. »
Binotto took over as chief operating officer and technical director on August 1, and Sauber ultimately fell behind in the 2024 F1 Constructors’ Championship standings as the team yet to score a point.
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