Audi’s F1 problem Is Sauber Chassis – Bottas

Valtteri Bottas is not sounding optimistic about the near-term future of Sauber, as it transitions into the fully works Audi team for 2026 and beyond.

The Finn and 10-time grand prix winner admitted recently that signing a three-year Sauber contract was a career regret, leaving him without a single point in 2024 and without a race deal for this season.

Bottas, 35, is returning to Mercedes this year to be full-time reserve driver.

“The biggest difference will be when the lights go out on Sunday,” he told Australian F1 photographer Kym Illman. “I’ll be watching from the outside and that will be strange and it will definitely take some getting used to, but I’ll try to keep busy.”

Sauber also ousted Guanyu Zhou at the end of last season, with the experienced Nico Hulkenberg and reigning F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto now in the Hinwil-made cockpits for 2025.

“No idea what to expect out of Bortoleto,” 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve told Action Network. “No idea. Formula 2 has never been a good judge of drivers.”

Bottas’ prediction is even gloomier, not only for 2025 but also for the real start of the Audi era from 2026. “My biggest concern is the chassis,” he told Sky Deutschland.

“It will not be manufactured by Audi, but will continue to be manufactured by Sauber. The chassis side definitely needs to be improved.”

Bottas insists: “It has been a difficult start for the brand so far.”

Audi F1 boss Mattia Binotto says the team made good progress in the latter stages of 2024, but he also admits that Sauber has a lot of catching up to do.

“There is much less production and technical capacity, a very outdated simulator and also around 400 fewer people than at a top team,” said the Italian.

Explaining the lag, Binotto continued: “This team has only survived for the past ten years. It has been in survival mode, making the best of the situation.”

However, he says Audi is determined to “be successful by 2030” in Formula 1.