The impending arrival of Audi in Formula 1 means Sauber is no longer a spectator in the driver market, according to its Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi.
Audi will enter Formula 1 for the first time in its history in 2026 after forming a strategic partnership with Sauber.
The German marque, which is set to complete a full takeover of Sauber, has been linked with several experienced drivers on the grid, most prominently outgoing Ferrari racer Carlos Sainz and Haas veteran Nico Hulkenberg.
“There are 14 drivers without, let’s say, a contract fixed for next year,” said Alunni Bravi. “So, as all the teams, we are speaking with different drivers.
“And you know, it’s not the time for us to take any decision. It’s time to you know, provide our drivers with a performing car.
“But let me say that we are happy that it seems that we can play a role, a different role in the drivers’ market for the future thanks to Audi’s announcement and all the investment that will be done in order to improve our team.
“So I think that is good news for our team. Finally we are attractive and we are not spectators, we are a player in the market.”
Sauber has been in the lower half of the grid through the early stages of 2024 and has yet to score a point, with its prospects hurt by repeated wheel nut issues during pit stops.
Alunni Bravi accepted that the team is still likely to face compromises for the next couple of events before it can implement a long-term remedy.
“We know the issues that we had,” he said. “We know that we are working hard back in Hinwil to fix these issues, that all the measures will be ready, you know, not for this race.
“I don’t want to give a timeline just because, you know, we are working hard and we try to anticipate and reduce this lead time. We have other mitigation measures here that should allow us to be more consistent.”
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