Following the end of his discouraging and unproductive 2024 campaign, Valtteri Bottas conceded his Sauber move was flawed. “It was an error. Initially, everything seemed promising in the opening year, but it deteriorated from there,” The Finn stated. “There was a defined strategy for objectives over the three years, including the means to achieve them. However, those strategies and objectives were discarded when Fred Vasseur departed.”
Vasseur’s departure occurred at the close of 2022 when he transitioned to Ferrari, with Andrea Seidl from McLaren taking his place. After a commendable 2022, the team, then recognized as Alfa Romeo, began to regress in 2023, culminating in a low point in 2024 when Sauber amassed only four points.
Only an unforeseen eighth-place finish by Zhou Guanyu spared Sauber from the humiliation of failing to secure a single top-10 result in 24 races, with accusations directed at the team’s prior administration for purportedly sacrificing 2024 and 2025 entirely to ensure a strong commencement in 2026 under the Audi banner, negatively impacting team spirit.
It’s reasonable to suggest that while efforts are ongoing to evolve into the Audi factory team, dismissing the near future was misguided. Although exaggerating to say Sauber was completely absent would be inaccurate, failing to maintain pace in a fiercely competitive midfield environment meant that mere tenths of a second relegated it to the back of the field, struggling to advance beyond Q1 rather than contending for Q3.
In the midst of diverse administrative adjustments within Audi, Vasseur’s predecessor at Ferrari, Mattia Binotto, assumed the role of overarching CEO last August, with Jonathan Wheatley, formerly Red Bull’s sporting director, later accepting the challenge to become team principal for the first time in his distinguished F1 career.
Watch: Why Bortoleto Is Already Confident About Audi’s 2026 F1 Potential
One of Binotto’s initial priorities involved bolstering short-term performance and leveraging it as a foundation to cultivate the entire organization, rather than seemingly treating them as separate endeavors. After all, while Audi is extensively recruiting and investing, the team and resources accountable for both immediate and future prospects will largely remain consistent.
At the beginning of this year, Sauber was closing in but still positioned at the unfavorable end of the midfield as the season commenced with the new C45. An unforeseen six-point haul for Nico Hulkenberg in Melbourne’s weather-affected opening race was a gratifying bonus but not indicative, as subsequent weekends outside the points ensued.
For Wheatley, the most significant means of enhancing morale involved the team demonstrating its capability to overcome correlation challenges to translate genuine performance onto the car, and these enhancements materialized in Barcelona with a novel floor, sidepods, and front wing. Further refinements were introduced at Silverstone.
The Spain upgrade initiative achieved its objective, and those marginal gains enabled it to re-enter contention. Sauber has since secured points in four successive weekends, surpassing Red Bull during that span, and ascended from last to sixth, now commencing to challenge a stagnant Williams for fifth.
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images
What has similarly undergone a transformation is the team’s morale, with its trackside personnel now exhibiting evident enthusiasm. Hulkenberg’s podium result in Britain furnished Hinwil with additional impetus, even if the weather conditions once again contributed favorably.
“We deliberated the significance of momentum within a team. And consequently, for me, what I glean from today is that individuals are starting to have faith in us,” Wheatley articulated. “I can articulate the words. I can assert that we’re accumulating momentum. I can affirm that we’re enhancing the car’s performance. I can convey that all the diligent endeavors Mattia has undertaken before my arrival are becoming apparent. But it’s genuine.”
The redesigned C45 also augmented Hulkenberg’s and especially rookie Gabriel Bortoleto’s comfort levels behind the wheel, which fostered consistency, notably over a single lap when drivers must heavily rely on their vehicles.
“I believe we’ve all witnessed a surge in confidence among both drivers with the car since Barcelona,” Wheatley appended. “And I believe that’s the crux. It was exceedingly erratic prior to that. You likely observed that it was challenging for the drivers to consistently improve during qualifying, which constituted one of our principal concerns. I recall in Jeddah, even during braking into Turn 1, both drivers encountered difficulties in executing it correctly. Presently, we scarcely address it.”
Discounting Hulkenberg’s unexpected Silverstone podium, it would be unrealistic for external observers to regard the Swiss team’s recent points-scoring streak as the novel standard. The grid remains more congested than ever, and Sauber’s advancement has also been aided by Williams undergoing a challenging phase and Racing Bulls grappling for consistency. Further oscillations are inevitable.
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
However, as Williams has curtailed its 2025 development initiatives prematurely to concentrate entirely on 2026, the advantage it amassed over the initial eight races of the season no longer feels so secure. Sauber now trails by merely 18 points, with Racing Bulls and Aston Martin trailing by an additional five points. The battle for fifth is underway.
“We’re simply going to approach it one race at a time,” Wheatley commented regarding the constructors’ standings. “We’re relishing our race. We’ve once again enhanced the car’s performance this weekend. Let’s observe what Spa holds in store for us.
“We have a considerable journey ahead towards attaining our desired status as a team. And it constitutes a significant stepping stone on that journey.”
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