What McLaren have warned Gabriel Bortoleto about amid interest from Sauber

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The grid for the 2025 season may finally take shape if and when Sauber confirms their driver lineup along with Visa CashApp RB.

The two outfits are expected to confirm their plans imminently as they look ahead to the 2026 season in January when teams can finally start work on their cars for the radical change in regulations.

There has been some speculation over what will happen at Sauber given they are looking ahead to the takeover of Audi from 2026, when they will become a full works manufacturer under the German car-makers umbrella.

Nico Hulkenberg is the only confirmed driver so far, but there have been hints from senior management such as Mattia Binotto over who they would like to pair him for the future.

Zhou Guanyu is expected to lose his seat while Valtteri Bottas could be in line for a seat in 2025, before McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto takes over for the 2026 season. According to journalist Joe Saward, this scenario does come with a caveat.

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Gabriel Bortoleto told potential Sauber move ‘not a great idea’ by McLaren

The move to Sauber for Bortoleto would guarantee him a spot on the grid for the 2026 season, as it looks like McLaren will likely stick with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for the future.

Audi is struggling to attach big-name signings beyond Hulkenberg after Carlos Sainz snubbed their offer to join Williams, while the German car-maker does not have any driver academy in F1’s feeder championships.

According to Saward, McLaren has cautioned against any move to Audi for Bortoleto due to their unproven status so far in Formula 1 as an engine manufacturer.

“The word in Singapore was that McLaren has told its youngster Gabriel Bortoleto, the Formula 2 Championship leader, that joining Audi might not be a great idea as there might be potential for him at McLaren in the future,” wrote Saward.

Saward went on to say that it is likely that Bottas will pair Hulkenberg for the 2025 season, which leaves Zhou out of a seat and likely out of F1 for the foreseeable.

Why is Audi not an attractive seat?

Audi is one of the big names finally joining the grid after years of speculation over whether they would fund an F1 programme.

Parent company Volkswagen was engulfed in an emissions scandal in 2015 which caused cutbacks to many of its motorsport programmes, including its rumoured planned entry to F1 and eventually the successful WRC programme.

READ MORE: Everything we know about F1’s 2026 regulation changes so far from engines to tyres

But now that Audi has formally undertaken the ambitious task of building its own power unit for 2026 in conjunction with a chassis built by Sauber, it has led to some speculation over whether this is another ill-fated attempt a big car manufacturer.

Honda, BMW, and Toyota are all recent examples of this going badly but Audi had significant sway on the new regulations when they stipulated their terms to join. Despite this, given Sauber’s recent track record it is currently not seen as an attractive seat on the grid.