36-year-old driver now in ‘pole position’ to secure a seat at new Audi Formula 1 team in 2025

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The arrival of Audi in Formula 1 is slowly approaching and it looks like they want experienced German driver Nico Hulkenberg to be part of their line-up in 2025.

The report from RacingNews365 has shared more details about their plans going forward.

All eyes were on the official entry list for Formula 1 over the weekend.

Not for the obvious reason as all 20 drivers were already confirmed on the grid for some time.

But rather, because two teams were going to be known by different names heading into 2024.

AlphaTauri were no longer expected to be called AlphaTauri, however, their official name heading into next year is Scuderia AlphaTauri RB.

It’s yet to be seen what ‘RB’ stands for and that might end up being their moniker going forward.

However, Alfa Romeo are no longer in Formula 1 – despite late efforts to strike a deal with another team – and so Sauber’s name once again returns to the grid.

They’ll officially be known as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber before they become the works Audi team in 2026.

However, Audi may already have an influence on the team’s decisions going forward and want Nico Hulkenberg to be in the car in 2025.

The 36-year-old’s experience would be vital while having a German driver at a German team is no bad thing either.

Audi want Hulkenberg at Sauber in 2025

The report from RacingNews365 states that, ‘At the moment, however, Hulkenberg appears to be in pole position to secure one of the two seats at Audi.’

This will put pressure on current drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu who failed to impress last season.

The Finn has previously challenged for podiums and wins on a regular basis but last year managed to score just 10 points.

Zhou secured three ninth-place finishes to match his points tally of six points last year but will need to improve that number to avoid being dropped for Hulkenberg in 2025 when Audi have a bigger say on matters.

It might be difficult for Haas to convince Hulkenberg to continue with the team going forward considering their poor performance last year.

Guenther Steiner has already blocked one move for the 36-year-old, he may struggle to do so again.