Mattia Binotto explains why Audi lack ‘clear plan’ for 2025 Sauber F1 line-up

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Sauber underperformed during the 2024 Formula 1 season and is the only team of the 10 yet to score a point.

The Swiss team has been rooted to the lower end of the timesheets as Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu grapple with a lacklustre car.

Despite other teams such as McLaren and Alpine making impressive progress to move further up the field, Sauber have been stuck, rarely escaping from Q1.

Sauber will transform into Audi in 2026 as Formula 1’s new regulations are introduced, but there is uncertainty over the team’s driver line-up.

The team will have German driver Nico Hulkenberg racing for them in 2025 ahead of Audi’s arrival, but his teammate has yet to be confirmed.

Mattia Binotto was recruited by Audi this year as Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer. The 54-year-old conceded that their shortlist still has many drivers on it via quotes from motorsport.com.

Mattia Binotto is adamant that Sauber will decide their 2025 F1 line-up ‘as soon as possible’

There a very few seats on the Formula 1 grid available for the 2025 season and Audi are the team with the most question marks over them.

The Swiss team are unlikely to continue with Zhou, who has failed to hit the headlines and has been comfortably outperformed by Bottas.

Bottas has been reliable during his three-year stint with the team but hasn’t been spectacular, and there is a queue of young drivers waiting to replace him.

READ MORE: Sauber would be making very surprising call if they opted for five-podium F2 driver over Valtteri Bottas

Binotto explained that the team are assessing numerous options ahead of 2025 including Gabriel Bortoleto and their reserve driver Theo Pourchaire.

He said: “We will decide as soon as possible, no doubt, because we need to set up the team for next year and for the future.

“Theo is our reserve driver today, so somehow he’s already part of the family, and no doubt that he’s in our list. Gabriel is doing very well today in F2, I think he has shown to be a great talent, and certainly we are looking to what he’s doing – as we are looking to many others.

“Again, it’s a matter of we need to judge what’s most important for us in the short, medium and long term, and go for a clear plan – which today I do not have really an answer for now.”

A blend of youth and experience may be the perfect fit for Sauber in F1 next year

In Hulkenberg, they have a hugely experienced driver with more than 200 race starts in Formula 1 behind him.

The 37-year-old has been impressive throughout his career but is yet to stand on the podium in F1 despite his raw pace.

Audi is very much a long-term project, and a younger driver such as Pourchaire, who has impressed in Formula 2 and IndyCar could benefit from that environment.

The German team will likely be in the midfield, allowing a younger driver to make the occasional rookie error without the pressure of race wins on the line.