Hulkenberg: Sauber have to improve ahead of Audi arrival

Last season, KICK Sauber struggled desperately, scoring just four points and finishing bottom of the constructors championship. This time out things are already going better, with the Hulk picking up an impressive six points in the season opener in Australia.

But this hasn’t stopped the experienced German from pushing his team for more. With the outfit set to become an Audi factory team next year, the pressure is now on to make them a competitive force in F1’s midfield, ahead of a tilt at the title in the years to come.

Speaking ahead of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, Hulkenberg emphasized that “this year is a build-up year” for him and the team, but they definitely don’t want it to be a dead rubber.

Hulkenberg said: “This year is obviously another championship year, and we want to do well and improve. We have to improve, even looking ahead to next year, where obviously the tension with Audi coming in and being an official works team is going to be bigger.

“We are basically setting the foundations and the groundwork for the next couple of years, so to be honest, every day and every step of the way is already important.

“I know the midfield is very, very tight and competitive—it’s very small margins, and every little thing matters. I hope that we can break into this midfield battle and annoy a few people here and there, which would be very nice. It’s going to be a challenge to achieve that, but that’s what we’re here to do.”

It’s difficult to overstate just how bad a year KICK Sauber had last season. Expectations have dipped since Kamui Kobayashi’s last podium for the outfit in 2012, but even so, the team’s general lack of pace and inability to get on top of mechanical issues was clear to see.

Nowhere was this more obvious than in the pits, where KICK Sauber struggled to even remove wheel nuts from their cars, costing them huge amounts of race time. At last season’s Australian Grand Prix, for example, this cost Valtteri Bottas an eye-watering 30 seconds.

As the season progressed, the team stepped up their performance, allowing Bottas’ teammate Zhou Guanyu to snatch their only points at the Qatar Grand Prix. But this wasn’t enough to save either driver, as they were both replaced heading into this campaign.

While one of their replacements—rookie Gabriel Bortoleto—continues to show promise, it’s the veteran Hulkenberg who’s shouldering most of the responsibility for turning their car around. Describing the car as a “work in progress,” the 37-year-old believes KICK Sauber are at “the start of a very long journey” in their development cycle.

Hulkenberg added: “Obviously, you’re always going off your references—last year and generally the past. We have what we have right now. There are some good and not so good things [about the car], so it’s just about looking at everything.

“It’s really a familiarization phase, getting connected to the car and getting to grips with it. It’s a new car and a new team, and that always takes some time, effort, and work—very detailed work—that doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t do it in theory; you have to be out there driving, and we’ve started that process.

“Are we going to walk out of the first few races with a smile or with a bit of a [frown]? That’s to be seen. For now, it’s important that we focus, work hard on the things that we can influence, and just maximize the opportunities and our potential.”

In Hulkenberg, Audi have chosen to overlook the likes of Mick Schumacher, Pierre Gasly, and Esteban Ocon for their 2026 F1 debut, instead opting to bring back one of Sauber’s own.

Hulkenberg last raced for the team in 2013, racking up 51 points to finish tenth in the drivers’ standings, light-years ahead of a young Esteban Gutierrez who scored just six points. This year, the German would be delighted to get the same points haul and result against an inexperienced teammate, but no doubt he’d also like to pick up that elusive podium.

Asked if he thought it was finally his time to compete at the front, Hulkenberg expressed optimism about the Audi project and a desire to help the team meet its lofty goals.

“I hope so,” he concluded. “But for me, I just enjoy my time here, and I enjoy being part of this project. I like to contribute, to help where I can. Besides racing and adrenaline, this is also a great aspect of the job and gives me a lot of satisfaction that I can help the team with all my experience.

“I think we just want to push as hard as we can together and make it a good, successful story. The more successful, the better, obviously. I’m here for the grind, for the ride, for the pleasure, and for the good days as well as the bad days, so we’ll see what happens.” [Quotes by F1.com]