The F1 movie plot is ridiculous – except that it's (sort of) happening with Sauber

System 1 groups don’t leap from backmarker to frontrunner in a single day, an absurd premise that was among the many criticisms of the plot of F1: The Film. But its launch coincided with Sauber’s real-world transformation from backmarker within the first eight occasions of 2025 into contender. Nico Hulkenberg’s third place within the British Grand Prix might have been a smaller ‘victory’ than Hollywood calls for, and there’s no existential risk to the group to drive the drama, however even with out the cinematic largesse it’s a outstanding story.

Any epic requires a backstory and Sauber has that, albeit a convoluted one. Fashioned in 1970 to construct and run hillclimb equipment campaigned by founder Peter Sauber, it made the lengthy journey to F1 in 1993 through success with Mercedes in sportscars. Sauber’s F1 commencement was supposed to be as a full works group, solely to go it alone when Mercedes backed out. Mercedes in the end attached with McLaren, taking with it the Ilmor/Mercedes engines Sauber ran initially That was the start of a recurring narrative thread of thwarted producer desires.

Sauber constructed a popularity as a pragmatically-run midfield operation earlier than BMW purchased it, as producer alternative knocked a second time. After operating as BMW Sauber from 2006-2009, BMW pulled the plug because of a mixture of the worldwide monetary disaster and the stoop in outcomes. Peter Sauber, who retained a stake all through this era, saved the group however instances have been powerful to the purpose the place Sauber teetered on the sting of monetary oblivion earlier than being purchased by Swedish billionaire Finn Rausing. After coming near promoting to Michael Andretti in 2021, Audi began its acquisition of the group, then in its fourth of 5 seasons operating below the Alfa Romeo title because of a sponsorship deal, in 2022. Subsequent 12 months, the title adjustments, Audi’s new energy unit arrives and the German works group dream can be fulfilled.

That brings big expectations, one thing Sauber fell effectively in need of over the earlier two years. It by no means acquired as dangerous because it did for fictional group APX GP, which was and not using a level in two-and-a-half seasons in the beginning of F1: The Film, however Sauber wasn’t far off. From mid-2022 to the tip of 2024, it scraped collectively simply 24 factors in 59 races. This brings us to the true begin of the story: Sauber’s horrible begin to 2025.

Hopes have been larger after an uptick in type late in ‘24, however pre-season testing in Bahrain was a nightmare. The automobile needed to be arrange stiff, was tough to drive, unpredictable and sluggish. Worst of all, it was not behaving because the simulation instruments stated it ought to. There was at the least an improve launched for the Australian Grand Prix comprising a brand new entrance wing, ground and bodywork, which represented the ‘actual’ 2025 Sauber. This improved the automobile, however solely from one which was all at sea and effectively off the again, to 1 on the again however able to scraping into Q2 if qualifying was executed completely, even when it lacked race tempo. That was the truth for the primary eight occasions of 2025, with Hulkenberg’s seventh place in Australia owing extra to good pitstop timing when the rain returned than tempo. Hulkenberg referred to “struggling in site visitors” and a automobile that was “difficult to drive”, whereas Gabriel Bortoleto indicated “even when we have now tempo it’s simply so troublesome” and talked about “unpredictable stability”, to choose simply 4 feedback from throughout that run of occasions.

This was tackled with an improve that actually did make the automobile higher for fight, F1: The Film type. Or slightly, it’s now higher behaved in turbulent air round different vehicles than it was beforehand. It is a drawback for any F1 automobile, however the Sauber was significantly weak on this space early within the season. Gabriel Bortoleto’s journey into the gravel on the opening lap of the Chinese language Grand Prix after being caught out by the wake of Ollie Bearman’s Haas illustrates how dangerous issues have been. This isn’t Hollywood’s concept of a automobile that magically works brilliantly in soiled air, though that has improved. As an alternative, it’s a consequence of the all-round enchancment within the aerodynamics because of making a automobile that’s much less peaky. That is all about making the aerodynamic efficiency extra strong, which means much less vulnerable to affected by stalls that consequence from airflow separation or the community of interacting vortices bursting that results in a sudden drop in downforce.

“I name it driveability,” says group principal Jonathan Wheatley. “I can keep in mind sitting [on the pitwall] in Jeddah throughout qualifying and considering ‘the drivers simply can’t choose a proper braking level for Flip 1’, the automobile was so troublesome to cease and switch there. I keep in mind coming away from there in our debrief saying that the drivers simply cannot construct on a constant lap time as a result of the automobile is a handful in sure conditions.

“What I seen from the primary improve was a confidence, even on the onboard cameras – I nonetheless like to observe them throughout the periods, particularly throughout qualifying. And I feel with the event program that is been put in place [means] there’s only a confidence within the automobile now. They will get pleasure from driving, it is much less peaky, they’re in a position to handle a race tempo over a distance as a result of they are not nervous about one axle over one other. And there is a consistency in constructing our qualifying tempo. One of many causes for being in Q2 [more often] this 12 months is simply having a broader working window.”

Wheatley is referring to the brand new ground that appeared for the ninth race of the season in Spain. Initially deliberate for 2 races earlier, this was the results of some rigorous investigation again at Sauber’s Hinwil base into why the automobile hadn’t behaved as anticipated from the beginning. This course of has not solely made the automobile extra aggressive, however crucially, has improved the technical group’s depth of understanding and methodologies. This underlying science can be transferable to the 2026 venture, though the components aren’t. 

“Barcelona was a results of plenty of homework on getting a barely nasty shock at the start of the season of this isn’t the place we should always have been,” stated Key. “Our [performance] quantity was fairly excessive, theoretically, and had we achieved it, we’d have been the place we are actually or higher, however we simply did not, [meaning the initial reaction was] there’s one thing odd occurring right here. So we dived very deeply and got here up with new methods of growing issues, new metrics to guage one thing by. We did plenty of measurements on monitor to attempt to get our heads round why, when you could have a quantity in entrance of you, truly a complete set of numbers, they are not repeating themselves on monitor.”

The Barcelona ground was the important thing change. Hulkenberg turned the efficiency achieve right into a outstanding fifth place in Spain because of a mixture of Kimi Antonelli’s retirement triggering a security automobile, bolting on contemporary softs that allowed him to move faster vehicles, and Max Verstappen’s penalty. Nonetheless, the actual fact he was on the right track for ninth place on advantage even earlier than that confirmed how large a step had been made in delivering what Hulkenberg says the suggestions had been all season, particularly “make it quick, make it driveable, constant, comfy”.

Delivering on that’s what actually made the distinction, yielding a much bigger efficiency achieve than anticipated for Sauber. The downforce produced by the automobile with the Spain bundle was larger, however the enchancment in tempo was compounded by the drivers having the ability to assault. Add to that additional iterations of the ground launched in Austria and Britain, making this what the group calls a three-step improve, and you may see why Sauber has change into a lot stronger. Qualifying performances have improved considerably, however race tempo is markedly higher significantly on excessive gasoline hundreds. This has helped the drivers make positive factors even in races the place qualifying hasn’t gone effectively.

“The upgrades have introduced a broad spectrum of efficiency,” stated Wheatley after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the place Bortoleto completed sixth on advantage. “It does seem to be we’re in a position to comply with just a little bit nearer than another groups, however the drivers simply appear very comfy with the automobile on totally different tire compounds and throughout totally different circuits. It’s very encouraging.”

The results of these enhancements is a haul of 45 factors that places it seventh within the constructors’ championship and firmly in competition for fifth, given Williams is just 9 factors forward. Key to that whole are the 15 factors Hulkenberg took for third at Silverstone, the group’s first podium end since Kamui Kobayashi within the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix. Because the grizzled veteran, as soon as left on the F1 scrapheap however returning to take a long-awaited ‘victory’ (effectively, third place), Hulkenberg’s 2025 story has a contact of the Brad Pitt character in F1: The Film, Sonny Hayes – and it’s definitely a redemption story in that regard. He’s even acquired the younger hotshot teammate too, though Bortoleto’s season has been spectacular from the beginning.

Now comes the true problem for Sauber, as a result of that is removed from the tip of the story. Audi’s acknowledged goal of difficult for victories and world championships by the tip of the last decade is an bold one, and recovering from a diabolical begin to obtain midfield respectability is a drop within the ocean in comparison with what must be finished to attain that. There’s nonetheless an unlimited quantity of recruitment, restructuring and constructing to do, however what’s encouraging is that technically a breakthrough has been made. To introduce one bundle that improves issues is a optimistic, however the truth positive factors have been repeated with additional developments is crucial. Expectations are subsequently larger internally for the principles reset in 2026, which is able to permit the primary genuinely clean-sheet of paper designed below the management management of Mattia Binotto, who joined final 12 months with the joint titles of chief working officer and chief technical officer.

That is the place the real-world story deviates from the flicks. There aren’t any shortcuts in F1 and there’s nonetheless an extended method to go for this group because it approaches its metamorphosis into Audi, however the enchancment in instruments, the expansion in know-how, is definitive proof that progress is being made though there was nothing to point out for it only a few quick months in the past. It’s not a lot within the grand scheme of issues, however it’s a begin – one which simply would possibly, a few years down the road, even result in the proper Hollywood ending for Sauber.