Sep.4 (GMM) One other title or two might be added to the record of drivers linked with Audi-owned Sauber for 2025.
The crew has the ultimate actual emptiness on subsequent 12 months’s Method 1 grid, with actually high drivers like Carlos Sainz reportedly having turned down the seat because of uncertainty concerning the looming new works venture and Sauber’s at the moment poor ranges of efficiency.
Many imagine incumbent Valtteri Bottas, 34, is the favorite to safe the deal, though the Finn is seemingly pushing for greater than a single-year contract – which might not be on supply to him.
Mattia Binotto, accountable for the Hinwil primarily based crew pending Jonathan Wheatley becoming a member of Sauber as new crew principal mid subsequent 12 months, stated he’s pretty relaxed concerning the state of affairs as a result of Nico Hulkenberg is already signed up.
“He has signed for a very long time and we are able to draw on his expertise,” the previous Ferrari boss advised Sky Deutschland. “This will likely be a incredible collaboration and reference for the crew.”
Italian Binotto, 54, admits that as a result of he solely began work “just a few weeks” in the past, he’s undecided about whether or not to place one other skilled driver subsequent to Hulkenberg, or a promising teen.
“I would like to grasp, go searching, pay attention,” he stated.
He freely admitted at Monza, nevertheless, that two rookies are into account – the already Sauber-affiliated Theo Pourchaire, who has appeared in Indycar this 12 months, and the McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto.
Bortoleto, from Brazil, is barely 19, however he’s a title contender in Method 2 this 12 months – and he gained the function race at Monza final weekend.
Roger Benoit, the veteran Swiss F1 journalist, thinks Audi-owned Sauber is “begging” McLaren to launch Bortoleto, believing he’s a “new Oscar Piastri”.
Based on Benoit, writing in Blick newspaper, Bortoleto – a part of Fernando Alonso’s A14 administration firm – can be pushing for a two-year deal a minimum of.
The seat-hunting Mick Schumacher, nevertheless, could also be prepared to accept a one-year deal to refire his dormant Method 1 race profession.
“I do know him (Schumacher) very properly from the Ferrari academy,” stated Binotto. “I understand how sturdy he might be. He’s on our record, like many others.”
And what about Mick’s mentor, quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel, who has reportedly additionally been sniffing round for potential alternatives to return to F1?
“I like Sebastian,” stated former Ferrari boss Binotto. “Whenever you work with him, you possibly can recognize his class much more, as an individual and as a driver.
“However we aren’t actually in a rush to determine.”
