Rumor: Sauber wanted to sign Hulkenberg for 2024 (Update)

This rumor is upgraded to ‘fact’ today.

(GMM) Nico Hulkenberg admits he had “discussions” with Sauber about a potential move to the Swiss team ahead of its future works collaboration with Audi.

Whether Audi, the Volkswagen-owned German carmaker, will actually follow through with its 2026 works Formula 1 project is actually the subject of intense speculation at present.

A new report in Der Spiegel claims VW is “analyzing the situation again in detail” following the recent sacking of former CEO and F1 enthusiast Markus Duesmann – and rumors of the need for a sole focus on production cars and cost-cutting.

An Audi spokesperson told us: “The Formula 1 entry is based on a board resolution. The project and the timetable remain unchanged.”

However, German Hulkenberg was once again connected with a potential move to Sauber-Audi as recently as this week, with the rumors suggesting he would see out his 2024 contract with Haas before making the move for 2025.

“There were discussions,” the 36-year-old admitted to Sky Deutschland in Mexico.

“I know Andi (Andreas) Seidl very well from his Porsche and Formula 1 days. We get along well, that’s no secret,” Hulkenberg said.

“There were discussions, there was interest. At the end of the day, it didn’t happen.”

However, Hulkenberg admits that the talks could fire up again once he gets into his Haas contract extension next year.

“I think it will be very interesting next year and that the cards will be reshuffled,” said the veteran of 200 grands prix. “A lot will happen in the driver carousel.

“It always depends on how good the package that you have is – how well you can express yourself or not.”

The current rumors of indecision about the project and the specter of VW-powered cost-cutting will also not be music to the ears of potential drivers for the new Sauber-Audi pairing.

“When Audi finally gets started in 2026, it’s still up in the air whether they will be a top team or not,” Hulkenberg said. “They have to prove that and achieve it first.

“So there are still some question marks. I’m currently here (at Haas), I feel at home and everything else is up in the air.”

(GMM) Sauber made a move to replace one of its current drivers with on-form Haas racer Nico Hulkenberg for 2024.

That is the claim of the well-connected and respected veteran journalist Roger Benoit, writing for the Swiss newspaper Blick.

The rumor is hot on the heels of Sauber, currently called Alfa Romeo but transitioning to Audi for 2026, announcing that Guanyu Zhou has been signed to spend another season with Valtteri Bottas.

But Benoit says there have been “heated discussions and arguments behind the scenes for weeks” at Sauber’s Hinwil headquarters.

“There were even voices that wanted to replace both drivers,” he claims. “The duo has become too harmonious, getting along so well, praising one another and always saying the same thing. And that’s poison.”

Benoit says Sauber reached out to Hulkenberg, but “unfortunately Haas boss Gunther Steiner redeemed his (2024) option” on the 36-year-old German.

On top of that, terminating Finn Bottas’ 2024 deal “would have been too expensive”, Benoit explained. And it was also decided to “give Guanyu Zhou a third chance”.

Sauber team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi, however, said no one should be surprised about the news that a contract extension with the Chinese driver was extended.

“I think we are being consistent with what we said from the beginning of the season,” he said in Singapore.

“We are in a full transition period as a team, a full transformation process, and we want to have stability in our driver lineup,” he insisted.

Bravi does not deny that there may have been a few issues with Zhou’s sponsors prior to the new deal being agreed.

“Of course we needed to have all the conditions for Zhou to remain,” he said, “and I think we had an open and transparent discussion in the last few months.

“But our aim was always to keep working with him for another year. We think he can do another step and improvement, like he did from last year to this season, so we expect him to be more comfortable with the team and do another step in terms of speed and consistency.”