Audi urged to ‘be careful’ as Sauber decision risks repeating Toyota’s costly ‘mistake’ in F1

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Sauber have suffered a difficult season and are the only team in Formula 1 yet to score a point this year with three rounds to go.

The Swiss team have been significantly slower than the rest of the field and struggled operationally at the start of the year.

Sauber were held up by very slow pit stops in the opening few rounds, which erased their slim chances of scoring points and breaking into the top 10.

Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu have struggled to get on top of an underdeveloped car that lacks performance and consistency.

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix was another difficult race, failing to score points on a chaotic day that opened up opportunities for both Alpines to be on the podium.

After a difficult season, the team will feature an all-new line-up of drivers for 2025. Sauber have signed Nico Hulkenberg and Formula 2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto.

They will have to improve before being taken over by Audi in 2026 as F1 introduces its new regulations and a very different car.

Sauber and Audi will need to be wary of making errors, and Edd Straw explained when talking on The Race F1 Podcast that they can’t repeat Toyota’s mistakes.

Edd Straw warns Audi that they can’t blame drivers like Toyota did

Toyota failed to deliver their full potential in Formula 1 over a stint from 2002-2009 when they didn’t win a race.

The Japanese manufacturer took multiple podiums, particularly in their final two seasons as a works team with Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock.

Despite being a significant manufacturer, they didn’t win a race and only took a first pole position at the 2005 United States Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Audi told zero-podium F1 driver would have ‘done himself a disservice’ joining Sauber

During Toyota’s first season in Formula 1, Mika Salo and Allan McNish struggled to make an impression and floundered at the back of the field. So, both drivers were replaced ahead of the 2005 season.

Toyota have since returned to F1 in a technical collaboration with Haas, and Straw explained that Sauber can’t afford to repeat the same errors the Japanese team made in their first spell after Audi dropped Bottas and Zhou for a new-look line-up of Hulkenberg and Bortoleto.

He said: “Now, there were some questions, particularly last year, certainly inside the team, about the application and the focus and that kind of thing. But it’s been pretty good this year. I’m a little bit concerned that there was a… I get the impression that within Audi, there’d been a little bit of blaming the drivers going on.

“I do feel that’s a little bit of a mistake because remember Toyota in their first year, though, one of the things they did was blame the drivers.

“Blame Allan McNish and Mika Salo for the fact that their car was hopeless and clear them out. ‘Oh, shockingly, it’s not making a huge difference.’ So you’ve got to be careful of that.”

Audi will be under significantly more pressure in 2026 if results don’t improve

Sauber took a significant step back this season but there will be much more pressure on the team in 2026 with Audi’s colours.

The German manufacturer are entering Formula 1 for the first time and will be looking to repeat their success of endurance racing and other disciplines.

Hulkenberg will be hoping to lead the team, and a driver from Germany will attract a lot more interest, although Audi won’t be a completely German team.

Next season will need to be an improvement if Audi are to hit the ground running in two years and be competitive.