£8m-a-year driver now has an ‘80%’ chance of earning 2025 Sauber seat

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The final seat that appears to be open on the Formula 1 grid next season is at this year’s bottom team Sauber.

Sauber will become Audi at the beginning of the 2026 campaign and that should make them an enticing prospect for any driver.

However, driver after driver has rejected joining Nico Hulkenberg at the Swiss team in their final year on the grid before they become Formula 1’s newest works team.

Audi have made sweeping changes recently to try and get the project back on track but that’s been easier said than done.

Mattia Binotto witnessed Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu get left behind at the Dutch Grand Prix and future team principal Jonathan Wheatley is still powerless at this stage.

Speaking on the Pit Pass Podcast, journalist Julianne Cerasoli has provided an update on who could potentially fill the seat.

Bottas is the stronger of the two Sauber drivers even if he’s below Zhou in the championship.

READ MORE: Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas’ life outside F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin

Cerasoli has now rated the chances of the £8m-a-year driver retaining his seat beyond the end of the year.

It’s an encouraging sign for his future although whether he wants to continue given the team’s current trajectory is another matter.

Valtteri Bottas has an 80% chance of retaining Sauber seat in 2025

Sharing what she’s hard in the Monza paddock, Cerasoli said: “Another big talking point is the Sauber spot alongside Nico Hulkenberg next year.

“I heard from someone with tight connections with the team that Bottas has an 80% chance of getting the seat which is a big turnaround from what we were hearing a few months ago.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber from team principal to Audi future

“But there seems to be a sense that the team needs someone who knows what’s going on and it’s not just about experience because they have experience with Hulk but experience with the team, continuity.

“Definitely not the first or the second or the third choice but Valtteri sat down with Binotto last weekend and he seems to be well positioned to stay as it stands.”

Who else is in contention to race for Sauber next season?

If Bottas does have an 80% chance of staying at Sauber, that means there’s a 20% chance that someone else gets the gig.

Zhou believes he’s a better choice than any rookie Sauber could potentially hire but after three seasons in F1, it’s hard to say that the Chinese driver has done enough to earn another deal.

There will be at least two rookies on the grid next year with Oliver Bearman and Jack Doohan confirmed for 2025.

Kimi Antonelli is set to join them and Liam Lawson has been told he’ll have a seat on the grid by Helmut Marko.

Lawson could be placed at Audi if Red Bull and RB retain their drivers although Mattia Binotto may need some convincing.

Gabriel Bortoleto held talks with the Sauber team at the Dutch Grand Prix but whether McLaren would release him to another team on the grid is another matter.