Why Audi’s driver choice for F1 2025 should be an obvious one

During F1’s 2024 summer break there’s just three spots on the grid still up for grabs.

Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes seat looks destined to be Andrea Kimi Antonelli's, barring a shock decision to leave Red Bull from Max Verstappen.

Jack Doohan is thought to be the frontrunner to replace Esteban Ocon at Alpine for next year, leaving one seat at Sauber/Audi.

Audi missed out on their top target with Carlos Sainz opting to join Williams, and similarly with Esteban Ocon, who will join Haas.

This leaves the team in a precarious position as they decide who to partner Nico Hulkenberg for F1 2025.

The rumours swirling around Sauber’s driver line-up have suggested that senior management were keen to have a clean sweep - replacing both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

However, with a change of management, with Mattia Binotto coming in, that might just change.

The obvious choice

While in some people’s eyes it’s not the most exciting choice, Bottas is the obvious choice for Sauber in 2025.

Despite scoring zero points in the opening 14 races, you can make the argument 2024 has been Bottas’ strongest since joining the team from Mercedes.

Bottas leads teammate Zhou 13-1 in the qualifying head-to-head, with the average margin between the pair between 0.4s to 0.5s.

The Finn’s dominance over Zhou is similar to Max Verstappen’s over Sergio Perez, and Alex Albon against Logan Sargeant.

While statistically-speaking, Zhou has fared better during the races (Bottas only leads this 9-5), bizarre strategy calls and pit stops, granted for both drivers, make it difficult to gauge race day fairly.

Bottas does indeed sit 21st in the drivers’ championship - 21 out of 20 drivers isn’t a good look - it’s hardly been his fault.

He was in the hunt for points in Australia and China, but poor pit stops and reliability put him out of contention.

Bottas remains quick and alongside Hulkenberg a speedy, reliable midfield pairing.

Given Sauber have comfortably the slowest team in F1 2024, a Bottas-Hulkenberg pairing is certainly more than they deserve.

The lack of options

Sauber’s rejections from the likes of Sainz and Ocon gives them limited options.

In terms of the current grid, Zhou and Kevin Magnussen would be underwhelming to say the least, particularly for a works outfit like Audi.

The Red Bull situation is an interesting one.

Had Perez been dropped mid-season, there’s no doubt that a return to Hinwil could have been on the cards.

Let’s not forget prior to joining Red Bull, Perez was dubbed ‘king of the midfield’, and his Mexican backing always makes him an attractive option despite his poor form against Verstappen.

Liam Lawson or Daniel Ricciardo could also be available to Sauber for next year depending on how the Perez situation plays out.

While in raw performance terms neither of them would be an upgrade on Bottas, it would inject some new life into the team, should they want that.

The wildcard option

As first reported by Formul1a.uno, F2 star Gabriel Bortoleto has emerged as an unlikely contender.

The 19-year-old Brazilian is currently part of McLaren’s pool of drivers having joined their development programme in 2023.

Bortoleto has starred in his rookie F2 season and currently sits second in the standings behind Red Bull-backed driver Isack Hadjar.

With Bearman, Doohan and Antonelli all set to join the grid in 2025, Sauber might feel it’s the perfect opportunity to give some fresh blood an opportunity ahead of the major rule changes in 2026.

With no Brazilian on the F1 grid since Felipe Massa in 2017, Bortoleto would fill that void and tap into a market longing for their next motorsport superstar.