With most of the teams having confirmed their lineup, the pressure is on for Kick Sauber and VCARB to confirm their lineup for next year. While we have a good idea of who VCARB will select for next year, the situation in Sauber is a bit more uncertain.
One thing to keep in mind going forward is that, although the team will race with the Sauber name next year, the key decisions regarding the team and its driver are coming from Audi. Initially, it was said that Audi would come in as a works team for Sauber.
However, earlier this year, it was confirmed that Audi would be the owner of the team from the 2025 season itself. So next year, Sauber will be the works team owned by Audi. Hence the Swiss-based team will have full control over the driver lineup for next year.
Who will drive in the Kick Sauber in 2025?
As per the latest reports, the candidates for the 2025 Sauber seat are Valtteri Bottas, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Franco Colapinto. All these drivers have positives as well as negatives that they can bring to the team.
Valtteri Bottas brings a lot of experience to the table. He has driven for Mercedes during their prime. So he could be perfect to help develop the Audi F1 car. However, Bottas is not the fastest driver out there. With Mercedes, he was not able to keep up with Lewis Hamilton. With Sauber, Bottas is yet to score a point this year.
Gabriel Bortoleto has been performing well in the Formula 1 feeder series. Last year, he won the Formula 3 Championship. This year, it looks as though he will win the Formula 2 Championship. Every driver who has done this in consecutive years has gone on to become a successful F1 driver. However, the Brazilian is young and has little experience in a Formula 1 car.
🚨 | James Vowles on the chances of giving Franco Colapinto a full-time seat:
“I want to give Colapinto a seat for 2025 and ideally in Formula 1.”
“In two races, Colapinto has shown the world that he deserves a seat in Formula 1.”
“I think Albon and Sainz are still the right… pic.twitter.com/4P5tiGPYuE
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 16, 2024
Theo Pourchaire is also a driver with great potential. He won the Formula 2 Championship last year. This year, he had a few stints for McLaren in the IndyCar series where he was commonly referred to as Teddy Porkchops. There is no doubt that he also has a lot to offer in Formula 1.
Franco Colapinto was not very popular before the Italian Grand Prix. Not a lot of fans knew who he was and what he was capable of. But at Monza, Williams announced that Colapinto would replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season. In just his second race, Colapinto scored 4 points for the team. Something that Sargeant or the entire Kick Sauber team was unable to achieve this year.
There is no doubt that all these 3 drivers bring something exciting and new to the table. However, there is only a seat for one of them. So Sauber will have a very important decision to make in the coming days.
When will Sauber make their announcement?
With less than 3 months left this season, Audi will have to make a decision soon. However, they don’t seem to be too pressured. But they did give an indication of when we can expect an announcement. Here’s what Alunni Bravi said:
“It’s not about the deadline because, of course, we are not opportunistic,” he said. “Now that there is only one seat available, we want to take time.
“It’s more to assess everything, every aspect, and to take a right decision. I think there is no rush, but we want to tick this box also soon. So, I think it will be a matter of the next weeks.”
⚠️ | Time is running out for Valtteri Bottas, and he knows it:
“Options are limited for me, but that is how it is… I have had to think: ‘what if I am not in Formula 1 next year?’”
Negotiations are still active between the Finn and new Audi team boss, Mattia Binotto, with the… pic.twitter.com/MndSiIm36T
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 11, 2024
So Sauber will have a very important decision to make in the coming days. The team could announce their decision anytime. From what we just heard, it could be right after the Singapore GP as well.
Who do you think Audi will want in their driver lineup for the 2025 season? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
