Another driver announcement is imminent at Audi-owned Sauber, but strong speculation suggests it won't involve Carlos Sainz.
The Swiss-based team, now fully owned by the Volkswagen subsidiary ahead of the 2026 works project, revealed last Friday that Nico Hulkenberg would be one of the drivers for 2025. Bild reports that he will earn EUR 5 million annually, a 3 million increase from his current Haas salary.
Hulkenberg's entry spells bad news for one of the current drivers, Valtteri Bottas or Guanyu Zhou, who both seem pessimistic about retaining their seats.
"I can't say anything about whether a second spot on the team is available," Guanyu said in Miami. "I think Andreas Seidl is evaluating all his options, including me and Valtteri."
Finn Bottas also appeared despondent in the Miami paddock, surprised and disappointed by a sudden change of race engineer for this weekend and beyond.
"I think that's more a question for the team," he said when asked why Alex Chan, his engineer since 2022, would not be with him in Miami.
"It was quite a sudden change."
When queried about the sudden change, Bottas remarked, "I think it shows that things are changing. Obviously, some changes are for the long term.
"I don't obviously know all the reasons behind every decision, it just tells me that change is happening. People are leaving. People are coming in.
"And obviously, yeah, many of these decisions are not in my hands."
Bottas, 34, also admitted it was "surprising" to learn about Hulkenberg's deal last Friday.
"The driver market is starting to move, obviously, and it also kind of makes sense as he's German. Audi made it pretty clear that they want a German driver, so it's all good. Let's see what happens next."
It's believed Bottas' main options for 2025 are Alpine and Haas. "Obviously I'm speaking to multiple teams," he said. "Some talks have advanced more than the others. So we'll see."
As for Hulkenberg's 2025 teammate, it's speculated that Ferrari refugee Sainz missed Audi's deadline to accept their offer.
"No, that's not true," the Spaniard insisted in Miami. "As I've said, not everything depends on me. There are still some things to wait for."
"But it's not over between us yet," Sainz added. "We are negotiating with different people and considering different options."
He noted that his father, rally legend Carlos Sainz, only has "good things" to say about Audi, a brand he knows well from his own career.
"He is confident that they will succeed in Formula 1," the younger Sainz, 29, stated. "But there are many more factors in my decision."
"I wish them all the best to become another strong team in the sport, no matter whether I end up there or not. I just need more time."
