Sauber are now ‘very close’ to signing Nico Hulkenberg’s teammate for 2025

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For the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix, a Sauber driver finished on the lead lap during Sunday’s race in Baku.

Zhou Guanyu never threatened to score Sauber’s first point of the season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix but wasn’t as far away from his rivals as he had been in recent races.

The Chinese driver tried to help teammate Valtteri Bottas in qualifying, knowing he already had a grid penalty, but the 10-time race winner still couldn’t get out of Q1.

It’s been a very frustrating season for the Swiss team, and Jacques Villeneuve accused Sauber of not even trying this season before the race.

However, there’s still plenty of interest in Sauber before they become the Audi works team in 2026 because they still have an available seat for next season.

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Nico Hulkenberg was secured from Haas at the beginning of the campaign, and the idea of a German driver leading a German team in their first F1 season is very appealing.

Speaking on The Race Podcast, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm admits he heard some noises in the paddock in Baku that his new teammate could be very close to signing a contract.

Mattia Binotto has been appointed as the head of Audi’s F1 project, and his next important task is finalising his driver line-up.

Despite having several exciting options available to him, it appears as though he’s going to stick with Bottas.

Whether Sauber and Bottas can agree on the terms of a deal is yet to be seen, with the Finn very keen on being part of the Audi project but potentially not being offered a multi-year deal.

Valtteri Bottas ‘very close’ to securing 2025 Sauber seat

Talking about Franco Colapinto’s performance in Baku, Mitchell-Malm said: “I thought that was fantastic.

“And if Sauber haven’t already made their mind up, and I got a couple of inklings this weekend that Valtteri Bottas might be very close to a renewal for next season.

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“But if that’s not the case, I think Sauber might need to think quite seriously about Colapinto because he’s put himself at the front of the queue, I think, in terms of, like, left field young driver picks, because he’s got this chance.

“You couldn’t have asked for more from him really today.”

Colapinto has emerged as a candidate for Sauber with no Williams contract on the table for 2025, given they’ve already signed Carlos Sainz.

He may have made his F1 debut a little too late to give Binotto enough evidence to consider him as a viable alternative to Bottas, who may not have had the best campaign but is a reliable driver nonetheless.

Guenther Steiner backs Valtteri Bottas for 2025 Sauber seat

Bottas knows that Colapinto and McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto appear to be his closest rivals for Sauber’s second seat next year.

Ted Kravitz believes that Zhou Guanyu will become an F1 reserve driver after failing to consistently impress during his three seasons on the grid.

Guenther Steiner recently said that Bottas is closer and closer to earning a new Sauber deal, and despite failing to finish in the top ten this year – he currently sits below Logan Sargeant in the Drivers’ Championship – he’s the right fit for the team.

At least three teams next year will run rookies, and as Colapinto and Oliver Bearman showed in Baku, there are plenty of upsides to employing a young driver.

That could still influence Binotto’s thinking, but Bottas has the expertise a struggling team needs to find their feet before one of the biggest rule changes in F1 history.