by VALERIO BARRETTA
Hülkenberg from Haas to Sauber (with Audi in mind)
With three points finishes in the first five grands prix of the World Championship, Nico Hülkenberg he is one of the surprise protagonists at the start of a season that has offered very clear hierarchies since Bahrain. It is logical that the German, despite turning 38 in August, is an attractive profile for the 2025 and 2026 market.
Yesterday we confirmed Sauber's interest in the Haas driver for next season. Now it seems that this interest is turning into a pre-agreement, considering how the driver himself considers Sauber (which will become Audi in 2026) more attractive than the current team. Indeed, the colleagues of F1-Insider are sure: Hülkenberg will drive for Sauber in 2025, only the signature is missing. However, it could arrive in the next few weeks.
Hülkenberg, whose contract with Haas expires at the end of 2024, is strongly supported by Audi project manager Andreas Seidlwho would have already wanted it this year before clashing with Haas's no.
The Sainz hypothesis
Seidl, securing Hülkenberg, would be halfway there in view of the debut of the new power units. However, it is clear that the Hinwil team needs an initial competitive lead. This could be Carlos Sainzwho however will hardly accept a year in “purgatory” just to hope that Audi will guess the car of the new regulations that will come into force in 2026. In this scenario, the future in F1 of Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou remains even more nebulous, whose performances (net of a good weekend in Shanghai) were the subject of strong criticism.
#Germany #HulkenbergAudi #signature #missing
