Even with a solid points haul at the season opener in Australia, Sauber find themselves fighting to escape P10 in the standings.
The Swiss team were always facing an uphill battle in 2025, given their lack of performance in last season’s campaign.
Still, prior difficulties will offer little consolation if the team finish last place for a second consecutive year.
There are also more long-term concerns for Sauber and Audi to navigate, specifically concerning the 2026 engines.
A year of damage limitation for Sauber
When Zhou Guanyu finished 8th at last year’s Qatar GP, it was the first and last time Sauber managed to score points in 2024.
However, this result was not a fluke – with Sauber taking a decisive step forward in performance, thanks to an update package introduced in Las Vegas.
Both Zhou and teammate Valtteri Bottas were competitive in last year’s final Grand Prix, with the Finn even making Q3 in Abu Dhabi.
This late-season resurgence provided some optimism that Sauber could fight for a better position than 10th in 2025.
Hulkenberg’s P7 in round one at Australia provided some validity to this theory – although less chaotic rounds in the subsequent weeks have exposed the C44’s ceiling.
Without an effective set of upgrades, Sauber will struggle to finish in the points in 2025.
Speaking after the first five races of his F1 career, Gabriel Bortoleto is open about the team’s position:
“It’s not easy, if I’m honest,” he explained in Jeddah.
“You come from two Championships [victories in F2 and F3], you’re used to being in this room, but actually after a race – because you win or you are on the podium.
“Now for us, it’s already a mega job if you’re going to Q2 or fighting for Q3.
“There’s always going to be someone paying this price at the beginning.
“If you see George Russell at the beginning of his Formula 1 career, I don’t think he scored a point in his first season – or something like this.
“And now he’s one of the best drivers on the grid and doing such a great job… So it’s all about having patience.”
On the defensive heading into 2026
In many ways, Sauber have a driver line-up that is perfectly suited to their current demands.
At just 20 years old, Gabriel Bortoleto will be in no rush to pressure or criticise the team for having underwhelming pace.
On the opposite side of the garage, Nico Hulkenberg knew that Sauber/Audi were a long-term project when he agreed to join the team last year.
Attracted to joining Hinwil by the appeal of being with an engine manufacturer, Hulkenberg offers stability and a calm head in this difficult patch.
This experience will also be crucial in 2026, when Audi could find themselves a few steps away from more established manufacturers.
There has been a flurry of activity surrounding the 2026 engine regulations in recent weeks, with new mechanisms being introduced to give engine manufacturers that are significantly behind an opportunity to catch up.
The aim is to avoid the 2026 regulations from becoming an ‘engine formula’, reminiscent of the hybrid era in 2014.
For a new engine producer like Audi, these provisions provide something of a safety net for next season.
However, there is still a large gap for the team to bridge if they want to establish themselves.
The German engine producer is still lacking the personnel and infrastructure to compete at the highest level – so Mattia Binotto and new team principal Jonathan Wheatley will work to eliminate this deficit.
