Nico Hulkenberg has admitted 2025 will be a “building year” for Sauber in Formula 1 amid the struggles the team endured last season and the impending Audi transition.
Hulkenberg is opening a new chapter in his extensive career in the upcoming campaign, having elected to leave Haas to complete a switch to Sauber on a multi-term contract.
The German’s move has seen him return to the Hinwil-based squad that he spent a sole season with in 2013 as it prepares to morph into the works Audi team in under 12 months.
Asked about his initial impressions since reuniting with Sauber, Hulkenberg told media including Motorsport Week at London’s O2 prior to the F1 75 season launch event: “Yeah, it’s been quite a few familiar faces, especially in the factory in Hinwil.
“I think the race team has changed quite a bit, but yeah, it’s obviously, you know, revives old memories from 2013.
“But yeah, I arrived to the team and I think the atmosphere is pretty positive, pretty, you know, upbeat, keen and eager, ready to go.
“Obviously had a challenging season last year [for] the team, but they’re very motivated to turn things around and to have a really different story this year.”
Sauber car better than Hulkenberg expected
Sauber concluded the previous campaign rooted to last place in the Constructors’ Championship, three places and 54 points behind the Haas side Hulkenberg departed.
However, the beleaguered Hinwil-based squad produced a late upturn as a considerable upgrade package in Las Vegas ensured that it avoided a point-less season.
Hulkenberg has divulged the C44 car that he drove in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi wasn’t much less competitive than the Haas VF-24 he had been accustomed to.
“Yeah, obviously those problems were mainly in the first quarter of last season and I think, you know, they’ve really worked through most of them already last year, but there’s always room for improvement,” he explained.
“I think on the operational side things were pretty good by the end.
“Obviously car performance, you know, that’s a different subject, but having done the Abu Dhabi test, you know, I was, yeah, not surprised, but I think the car performance wasn’t that bad, wasn’t that far off from, you know, what I was previously used to.
“I think the update that they brought to Las Vegas at the end of last year was a big step forward for them and you could see the trend was in the right trajectory and that’s obviously what we’re going to continue and try and do this season.”
Hulkenberg expecting slow progress in 2025
However, Hulkenberg has acknowledged that the Audi-owned team will be investing more attention in the impending rule change arriving in 2026 than the current campaign.
“I think it’s in some ways a building year,” he highlighted.
“I think our target is to be competitive and to obviously score as many points as possible, but you always have to remember where we came from last year and so it’s a difficult kind of starting point.
“We’ve, the team and us, been pushing over the winter, but right now we can obviously only speculate where we are, where everybody else is, but for us the motto is head down, just push hard, work hard and maximise everything on and off track and go for the opportunities when they come.
“It’s obviously a long road ahead, it’s the process started now and behind the scenes obviously many things already, ongoing with respect to next year, which is, yeah, a big thing and exciting, especially for myself. Being German, with a German manufacturer and works team, so yeah, a lot of things to look forward to and, yeah, look forward to get the season started soon.”
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