Photo: Race Pictures

Sauber's ambition reveals readiness for 'F1 giant' transition

20:18, 23 Sep

Updated: 21:37, 23 Sep

byOlly Darcy

Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley has stated that he is "very happy" with the "progress" that is being made at Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.

Nico Hulkenberg celebrated his first-ever F1 podium at the 2025 British Grand Prix with a P3 finish | Photo: Race Pictures

It is starting to bear fruit, and that's what you're seeing at the track in terms of the performance of the car

- Jonathan Wheatley

The Swiss team, who will become Audi next season, have been one of the most improved teams on the grid, currently sitting P8 in the constructors' championship with 55 points as they continue to move forward in the midfield battle.

It's a vast improvement from 2024's points tally, scoring just four points throughout last season's campaign. But Wheatley believes plenty more is to come.

"I'm never happy. What are you talking about?" the team boss laughed and joked in Baku before explaining what is being done behind the scenes at Sauber.

"It's a question I'm asking myself on a daily basis. I'm very happy with the way the team's progressing at the moment. The internal continuous improvement, which you can't see in terms of lap time. The communications, all the bits and pieces you have to do, racing-wise.

"The reaction to the fault that we had that cost Nico being able to start the Italian Grand Prix was exceptional, as good as I've seen at any team, frankly.

"Mattia's been here a long time. He's put a lot of stuff in place already, and that's starting to bear fruit, and that's what you're seeing at the track in terms of the performance of the car, without a shadow of a doubt."

Sauber taking positive everywhere they go

After a hugely disappointing 2024, it has been a stunning bounce back from Sauber and the Audi F1 project, with the German team coming into the sport when the 2026 regulations come into force.

Constant improvement in the midfield battle has been seen throughout 2025, and Nico Hulkenberg's superb P3 at the British Grand Prix, the German's first podium in 239 Grand Prix starts, highlighted the impressive move up the grid.

Both Hulkenberg and teammate Gabriel Bortoleto missed out on points in Azerbaijan, but Wheatley was able to take positives out of what was a "bogey track" in Baku.

"We're taking positives out of today; we had two reliable cars. The drivers extracted the maximum amount. We had a great bit of racing, some good overtaking by both of them, and the pit crew did an outstanding job, a really, really good job today.

"That second stop with Nico, I need to have a look at the details of it, I'm not sure about reaction times, but I felt the pit crew probably did their fastest pit stop ever. There's positives to build on all the time."

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.