Audi examines new driver projects for 2025

Who will be Nico Hülkenberg’s teammate? The German driver, who was confirmed several months ago to join Sauber-Audi from Haas, is still waiting to know the identity of his future teammate. A situation that is taking time due to several unresolved issues.

The most notable one is that of the Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who was announced very early on his way out of Ferrari, the Italian team having recruited Lewis Hamilton for 2025. From then on, Audi approached the former McLaren driver on multiple occasions and wanted to take advantage of the relationship Audi has with his father to recruit him. However, after several weeks of negotiations, Sainz chose to commit to Williams, preferring the stability of their project to that of Audi, which has undergone many internal changes.

In parallel, the manufacturer had also set its sights on Esteban Ocon, who had announced his departure from Alpine. However, after careful consideration, the French driver opted for Haas in 2025, forcing Audi to rethink its plans.

Bottas and Zhou: internal options

Faced with these refusals, Audi turned to its current drivers, Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas. Zhou believes he has a 50-50 chance of staying in Formula 1 and still has to prove his worth in the remaining ten Grand Prix races to convince Audi to keep him.

For the Finn, the situation is a little more favorable. Despite a difficult season, the performances of the former Mercedes driver are satisfactory and the successive nominations of Mattia Binotto as technical and operations director and Jonathan Wheatley as team principal have revived discussions about his retention. The likelihood that he will keep his place is therefore greater than that of his teammate, especially since according to Planet F1, the Finn posted a photo on social media of an Audi road car bearing his number « 77 », an indication that suggests his retention in the discipline in 2025.

Other possible alternatives: Perez and Ricciardo

Furthermore, despite this burning rumor, Audi is exploring other possibilities in case of failure. While the names of Théo Pourchaire, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Alex Palou have recently been mentioned, the future Formula 1 team is now showing interest in Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo. This is at least what the German media Auto Motor und Sport is reporting, explaining that Audi could bring them in if their adventure with Red Bull ends at the end of the season, a fairly plausible direction given the recent difficulties of the Mexican driver, who was even close to losing his seat before the summer break, and the poor start of the season for the Australian driver, constantly overshadowed by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

This opportunity could however benefit both parties. Perez and Ricciardo are looking for a way out and could be interested in the prospect of joining a new project and leading it to the top. On its side, Audi is looking for fast and experienced drivers, capable of bringing results and finances, qualities that these two drivers have already demonstrated in their careers.

The Mexican, who started in F1 in 2011 with Sauber, has several times been in a leadership role of a team and a project in the manner of his adventure at Racing Point, formerly Force India, when the team was bought by Lawrence Stroll, where he managed to lead it to success, notably winning the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020.

On his side, Ricciardo, who also started his career in 2011, was offered the team leader role at Red Bull after Vettel’s departure for Ferrari in 2015. A position that had allowed him to win many races and to fight at the front of the grid. A situation that was then repeated at Renault in 2020 alongside Esteban Ocon, the Australian leading the team to fifth place in the constructors’ championship by appearing twice on the podium.

If these rumors materialize, one of the two drivers will reunite with an old acquaintance since they have both been teammates of Hülkenberg in the past (from 2014 to 2016 at Force India for Perez; in 2019 at Renault for Ricciardo).

With all these potential candidates, the coming weeks will be decisive for Audi. Each driver will have to prove their worth if they hope to be on the starting grid in 2025 alongside Nico Hülkenberg.