Sauber ‘looked’ at signing £15k-a-week Formula 1 rival for 2025 before changing management

Follow us on Google Discover

Sauber are getting ready for the United States Grand Prix but are still in the unfortunate position of being rooted to the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship.

No matter what Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu do, their car is too far off the pace to challenge any of the teams above them.

However, Sauber are continuing to stay relevant in Formula 1 for two reasons.

Firstly, the imminent full takeover by Audi will make them the newest works team to join the paddock.

With Alpine giving up that status in 2026 after abandoning their Renault engines, it keeps the number of factory and customer teams on the grid the same.

The other reason is that Sauber are the only team outside the Red Bull circus that haven’t confirmed their complete driver line-up for next year.

Bottas has been seen as the favourite to partner with Nico Hulkenberg for some time.

However, Sauber and Bottas are having trouble agreeing on a contract, which is opening up other possibilities, with Mick Schumacher suddenly on Audi’s radar for next year.

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

In a video for The Race, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm believes another driver on the grid was once in Sauber’s sights.

Yuki Tsunoda is currently part of the Red Bull/RB merry-go-round, however, before he signed a new deal for 2025, Sauber were looking at the £15,000-a-week driver.

A change in management at Audi – with Mattia Binotto taking over Andreas Seidl – appears to have been the turning point in the Japanese driver’s chances of making the switch for 2025.

Sauber ‘looked’ at Yuki Tsunoda for 2025 before Audi’s management change

Explaining the difficult situation Tsunoda finds himself in at RB, Mitchell-Malm said: “He and his management were sniffing around earlier this year about some potential alternatives outside of the Red Bull family.

“I think Haas were very keen on him at one point, certainly I think also before the management changed, Audi had looked into it as well.

“Certainly the Sauber side had looked into whether or not Tsunoda could be an option there.

READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

“He has admirers in the F1 paddock, but it’s one of those situations where while your immediate employer continues to overlook you and also he did end up with Ricciardo coming back at him as 2024 progressed, I wonder if that sort of diminished his stock a little bit.

“I think he has a long-term F1 future, but I think he’s more likely to be in F1 long-term outside of Red Bull than as part of Red Bull.”

Yuki Tsunoda could still be in a new race seat for the 2025 F1 season

Tsunoda was up against Daniel Ricciardo at the beginning of this season in the RB team and expectations were high for the Australian as he hoped to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull.

However, Tsunoda outperformed the Australian throughout the first half of the season, earning him a new contract by the time F1 reached the Canadian Grand Prix.

Ricciardo has now been replaced by Liam Lawson and he and Tsunoda now have six races to prove they’re ready for a Red Bull promotion.

Helmut Marko has since told Tsunoda he’s a candidate to replace Perez, heaping more pressure on everyone involved.

If Tsunoda had decided to join Sauber, he would be under very different pressure with the Swiss team hoping to avoid ending the 24-race season without scoring a point.