Nico Hulkenberg ditches Haas for Sauber in 2025

Almost three months after Lewis Hamilton lit the touchpaper on F1 silly season by announcing his move to Ferrari, the next domino for 2025 has fallen: Nico Hulkenberg will race for Sauber next year.

The 36-year-old leaves Haas for the team that will eventually become Audi in 2026, the year when a new generation of V6 turbo hybrid engine regs could turn the grid on its head. Maybe.

It’s not the first time the German driver raced there either: he spent a season with the Switzerland-based outfit back in 2013, sandwiched between two stints with Force India (now Aston Martin).

It also means both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will be sweating even harder over their futures. Rumour has it that Audi wants Carlos Sainz to be the Hulk’s teammate now that the Spaniard is a free agent for 2025.

“The prospect of competing for Audi is something very special,” said Hulkenberg. “When a German manufacturer enters Formula 1 with such determination, it is a unique opportunity. To represent the factory team of such a car brand with a power unit made in Germany is a great honour for me.”

Hulkenberg of course holds one of F1’s least desired records, having started the most races (208 so far) of anyone in the sport’s history having never stood on the podium.

His multi-year contract - plus the prospect of F1’s next-gen engines shaking up the playing field - keeps the dream of breaking that duck alive for the foreseeable future.

“We are very pleased to welcome Nico back here in Hinwil from 2025 and to compete with him in Formula One,” said Sauber boss Andreas Seidl, who was also in charge of Porsche’s Le Mans operation when Hulkenberg won the race in 2015.

“With his speed, his experience and his commitment to teamwork, he will be an important part of the transformation of our team - and of Audi’s F1 project.

“Right from the start, there was great mutual interest in building something long-term together. Nico is a strong personality, and his input, on a professional and personal level, will help us to make progress both in the development of the car and in building the team.”

Meanwhile Haas now needs to replace its most in-form driver, although it’s widely expected that the US team will take on Ferrari youngster Oliver Bearman, who did an incredible job subbing in for Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia last month.

“I’d like to extend my thanks to Nico for his contributions to the team in the time that he’s been here with us – he’s been a great team player and someone we very much enjoy working with,” said Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu. “His experience and feedback have proved invaluable to us in terms of improving our overall performance – a fact that’s clearly evident in both his qualifying and race performances in the VF-24 this season.

“There’s lots more racing to go this year so we look forward to continuing to benefit from his inputs throughout the remainder of the 2024 season.”

What do we reckon folks, a sensible signing for Audi?