Sauber expects to make decision on second driver soon

The most sought-after place on the grid. The last team to still have a steering wheel available, Sauber is leading this final sprint of the 2025 transfer window. For the moment, the Swiss team is venturing into the next season with Nico Hulkenberg, recruited last May, only. As for the identity of his teammate, everything is still very open.

However, the tracks have narrowed over time with a few names like Esteban Ocon et Carlos Sainz who ended up bouncing back elsewhere, far from Hinwil (Switzerland). So what will happen to the German's teammate for the next season? Several choices are available to the management of the Sauber/Audi tandem, now led by Mattia Binotto. That of continuity and ease by extending Valtteri Bottas ou Guanyu-Zhou, or that of betting on youth and the long term, leaving experience aside, an argument so often used.

For the latter, training could turn to its academy and Theo Pourchaire, 2023 F2 champion, or try your luck with other drivers from the 2024 vintage of the Formula 2 like the current leader Gabriel Bortoleto or Franco Colapinto, who ends the season with Williams and looks good.

« Mattia Binotto took charge of all the files and that of the drivers is of course one of the most important, told Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Sauber representative. We are evaluating all the options to see what is the best balance between the short, medium and long term, or maybe [bet on] a young talent.

There are potential candidates on both sides. Valtteri is a great driver for our team. We know him very well. He has been with the team for three years already, and he is of course one of the first names on our list. But there are other opportunities. We are weighing up the pros and cons, and Mattia will make a decision based not only on 2025, but also on the medium/long-term strategy of the Audi project. F1 »

While Mattia Binotto and the Sauber/Audi staff do not intend to rush given that they hold the last steering wheel in play, Alessandro Alunni Bravi has slipped in that the decision on the second driver should be made shortly. There is no rush, but we want to check this box quickly., says the Italian. So I think everything will be decided in the coming weeks. »

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