Hulkenberg hopes Sauber can improve before its transition into Audi's works outfit
While Sauber is building up to the arrival of Audi next year, Nico Hulkenberg stressed that the Swiss team also needs to build some momentum this year ahead of its transition into a works outfit.
In August 2022, Audi announced its plans to take over the Sauber F1 team in 2026 when new technical regulations will take effect. However, with changes in Audi's management, rumours had started to circulate multiple times that the German manufacturer might call off its F1 commitment.
The 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix then saw the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer confirm its plans to take a 100 percent stake in the Sauber Group., with Audi announcing that a corresponding agreement had been reached with the current majority shareholder, Islero Investments AG.
Ahead of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, Audi then confirmed that QIA, the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, has signed definitive agreements to acquire a significant minority stake in Sauber Holding AG that will become Audi's future factory team.
The German marque explained that QIA’s investment will provide a substantial capital injection and pave the way for increasing infrastructure.
At the start of 2025, the German car manufacturer confirmed that the complete takeover of the Sauber outfit has been completed. The Hinwil-based outfit started the year with a new driver line-up, with Nico Hulkenberg having made the switch from Haas and reigning F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto having made his F1 debut with Sauber.
Following a tough season last year, Sauber had a more promising start to the championship as Hulkenberg recorded a seventh-place finish in the chaotic opening race at Melbourne. Asked about the potential of his car, the German driver said: "I hope we can shift the limit up as the season goes on. Yes, it's true, the last couple of races, it's been difficult.
"On some tracks we were a bit more competitive than others. I think Jeddah in particular, I feel in quali we didn’t maximise the potential and in the race we simply weren't competitive enough.
"So like I said, I feel it's a little track dependent and anyway, in the midfield it’s so tight that you have to be perfect on the execution every time to get something meaningful. So yeah, that's where we are. I think we are aware that we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we're not that far away either.
Pushed on to reveal what kind of track suits the C45, Hulkenberg noted that "maybe from what we've seen so far, actually a bit more the low and medium speed, but you know, temperatures and conditions always play a role."
While Sauber is building up to the arrival of Audi next year. Hulkenberg stressed that the Swiss team needs to build some momentum this year as well ahead of its transition into a works outfit.
"I think it's very important still to build momentum this year. Everything we do now somewhat matters next year. Of course, different set of regulations, but we have to push on parallel. I'm sure that’s what everyone is doing, especially the big teams.
"But I still want to see some progress this year and we want to score more points. Long year, we're still pretty early in the season, so still a lot to play for."
