Fixing an Unfixable Organization With New Blood
Stake F1 team’s brief time in Formula One has been full of irrelevance and team-wide dysfunction that has accumulated to zero points even after 18 races in 2024. Still, for as easy as it is to pile on the gambling/streaming site sponsored team, parent team Sauber has done little-to-nothing in creating a competitive car. The Swiss motorsport company has yet to ever win a Formula One Grand Prix and has run under past partnerships with BMW and Alfa Romeo. Their past struggles have continued in 2024 as their driver line-up consists of an ex-Mercedes second driver, 35-year-old Valtteri Bottas, and a struggling Zhou Guanyu, who many believe only holds his seat because of the paycheck he brings to the team in the form of Chinese fans and sponsors.
Sauber will cease to exist in 2026 as German car manufacturer Audi takes over all operations, including brand-new engine work. For Audi, the smartest thing is to immediately prepare for the future. As important as their new engine is, homegrown success often begins with a quality driver lineup, which, as of September 26th, is the only one with an open seat for 2025. The other Sauber/Audi seat has been taken by former Williams, Renault, and most recently Haas driver, Nico Hulkenberg. As the only current German driver in F1, the Hulkenberg x Audi partnership was a fantastic choice, as the crafty veteran has been carving a real place for himself with him consistently outperforming his lackluster car, even sitting at 10th in the drivers standings after a fantastic Singapore drive. Nico Hulkenberg is easily a top-half driver in F1 and is the perfect way to build a solid foundation for Audi’s 2026 debut. As the future looks, Hulkenberg continues to grow and learn even at 34 years old. Audi looks to be a fantastic fit and will set the German duo up for future success.
Nico Hulkenberg enters the F1 Paddock during his time with Renault
Kick Sauber/Audi’s second seat is not so straightforward though. At first, it seemed like current Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz would be the man for the role, as the Audi promise seemed like a great opportunity to build something of his own, but the major faults of Sauber’s current form and all of the mysteriousness involving a new engine program in 2026 were enough for him to seek other options. Few other current drivers without 2025 seats seem like viable options, but names like Daniel Ricciardo, who recently departed from VCARB, Valtteri Bottas, or Kevin Magnussen really doesn't move the needle for an Audi program that seeks a more impactful lineup. The transfer of power from Sauber to Audi is a difficult tightrope, as there needs to be a constant balance between improving for the future and giving much better results than the zero-point 2024 that Kick Sauber has had thus far in 2024. Still, as of recent, Audi leadership has seemed to limit expectations. Originally, the German manufacturers had aimed for race wins in the first 2-3 years, but Audi's CEO, Gernot Dollner, recently admitted that the team has "recalibrated" its timeline, acknowledging that real success may take longer than previously expected. Yet, championship hopes existing in a faraway timeline does not necessarily mean that Audi isn’t looking to be young and exciting early on.
Audi F1's revealed livery for their brand-new 2026 team
In enters Franco Colapinto. The interim Williams driver who replaced beloved American Logan Sargeant has been fantastic in his brief time in Formula 1. Three races into his Formula One Career, the 21-year-old Argentinian has already scored four times the points that Sargeant did in 37 race starts ranging from 2023-2024. Along with some fantastic overtakes and qualifying pace, Colapinto has made a great case for why he deserves the exclusive final 2025 seat. In his first 3 weeks in Formula 1, Colapinto has amassed over 2.5 million followers on instagram, greatly helped out by his Argentinian fan base, as he is the first Argentine driver since Gastón Mazzacane, who last drove for Sauber in 2001.
It is time for Sauber to return to an Argentinian driver for 2025 and beyond, as Colapinto is young, popular, and everything that a driver needs to be to succeed on and off the grid in modern-day Formula One. If Sauber’s 2025 lineup can be Colapinto and Hulkenberg, paired with a management team led by former Ferrari frontman Mattia Binotto and former Red Bull Racing Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley, success can be on the horizon. Success in Formula One is a long and difficult road that is by no means guaranteed, especially for a brand-new engine works team like Audi. But difficult does not mean impossible; in a quick look back to 2015, Mclaren scored a whopping 27 points all year and placed 9th out of 10 teams with an absolutely abysmal car and system of management. Yet here we stand in 2024, and Mclaren holds first place in the Constructors Championship with 516 points and still six races to go. Franco Colapinto is a step into the future for a Sauber/Audi team that must waste no time in building a successful team culture.
