Nico Hülkenberg felt positive about Sauber’s final F1 campaign before transitioning into Audi’s factory team from 2026. Following the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hülkenberg looked back at their final campaign in high spirits, despite scoring only two points and the team finishing ninth in the standings.
A massive turnaround from F1 2024
The German shared that he’s happy with all the progress they have made this season. Remarking that Sauber had a fantastic season compared to the previous year, with the only points coming in the penultimate round in Qatar, where Zhou Guanyu finished eighth.
“I mean, just look where the team came from last year. We had a really hard time, only one point scoring result,” he said, reflecting on the 2024 campaign.
Barcelona and beyond
In the opening round of the season, the team achieved a positive result in Australia as Hülkenberg scored six points. However, during the next seven races, the team faced a major dry spell as they struggled to regain their footing. Eventually, Sauber was seen as a one-hit wonder, that was, until the Spanish Grand Prix — ten points in the bag and a confidence booster.
The former Haas driver believes that Barcelona is where the season really started. They were on the back foot through the flyaways as the car was simply not competitive. An update in Spain changed all that.
“When you really analyse it, our season started from Barcelona,” he explained.“We had a lucky punch in Melbourne, but after that we didn’t really take part in the championship.”
As the championship entered a new regulatory era, development across the grid slowed down earlier than usual. Hülkenberg acknowledged that this helped.
“Because we go into this new era, the development stopped relatively early for most teams.”
Nonetheless, he viewed this year as a vital step in the team’s long-term growth — designating it as a “good learning year.”
The essential organisational changes
Going beyond the results, Hülkenberg highlighted the vital progress within the Sauber organisation as they prepare toward a major rebrand for F1 2026. With Audi’s influence growing, Sauber has focused on strengthening processes, infrastructure, and operational cohesion — elements the German believes are essential for long-term success.
“I feel we’re growing and building as a team and as an organisation,” he added. “We’re on a good path, which is positive, but there’s always more to improve.”
The season also delivered moments few would have anticipated at the outset. While a podium contention remained unlikely under normal conditions, Sauber proved capable of capitalising when the opportunity arose — alluding to the 2025 British Grand Prix, where Hülkenberg finished third.
“You could never have imagined a podium,” Hülkenberg said about his first trip to the rostrum in F1. “But all it takes is a bit of British weather.”
Audi’s new chapter
Despite their setbacks and glory, Sauber’s final chapter in Formula 1 wasn’t concluded in vain, with 70 points and two very competent drivers, their focus shifts to 2026. Starting from scratch under the Audi name and new regulations, there is no telling which team will be on top and which will contest right from the beginning.
