Audi risk signing ‘Logan Sargeant 2.0’ if they pursue one Mattia Binotto target

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Audi will currently be receiving phone calls from multiple drivers both inside and outside Formula 1. The seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg for 2025 and beyond is still up for grabs.

There are still officially five teams who haven’t confirmed their line-up for next year. But Red Bull will form their two teams from drivers already on their books, as is the prevailing policy.

Mercedes have already signed Kimi Antonelli, based on a report this week, and ‘everyone knows’ Alpine will hire Jack Doohan, according to Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz. For the rest, Audi is the only viable option.

The easiest solution would be to retain the incumbent Valtteri Bottas. The Finn is surely ahead of Zhou Guanyu in the race after comfortably winning the intra-Sauber battle this year.

But Bottas may not fit the Audi brand, with the team potentially looking for a younger driver alongside the veteran Nico Hulkenberg. They wanted to build around Carlos Sainz, but he’s joining Williams instead.

Audi are interested in Liam Lawson and could pounce if he enters the market in the autumn. However, Lawson feels gratitude to Red Bull and may be reluctant to activate the exit clause in his contract.

Audi could be getting another Logan Sargeant if they sign Gabriel Bortoleto

Another contender for Audi is Gabriel Bortoleto. It recently emerged that Bortoleto is on Mattia Binotto’s list of options for the second seat.

The F2 debutant, who’s currently on the books of McLaren, is currently second in the championship behind Isack Hadjar. He’s notched one win, two poles and three podiums so far.

But a report from sport.de states that Audi risk ending up with ‘Logan Sargeant‘ 2.0 if they place their faith in Bortoleto. Sargeant is set to drop off the grid at the end of the year following Williams’ move for Sainz.

He too was impressive in F2, finishing fourth in the 2022 standings. However, he’s only scored one point in F1 and has lost out to Alex Albon in every single Grand Prix qualifying session.

Who is Audi F1 target Gabriel Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso’s protege?

sport.de say that Audi would need to part ways with Bortoleto immediately if he’s ‘not up to the demands of the premier class’. That would cast a ‘bad light’ on a team that wants to cultivate the best possible image in its early years.

So does Bortoleto have the potential to succeed in F1? Well, he won the Formula 3 championship in 2022 and is in contention for the F2 crown this year, so he’s unquestionably one of the most exciting single-seater talents right now.

‘Important people’ are backing Bortoleto for Audi, no doubt including his manager Fernando Alonso. If he stays at McLaren, he’ll almost certainly have to race in another series as there’s no chance he dislodges either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri.

Trident team principal Giacomo Ricci says Bortoleto is special, and proved as much in his very first test. Alongside Oliver Bearman, Doohan and Antonelli, he could become the fourth rookie on the 2025 grid.