Haas F1 Team announced on Friday that Nico Hulkenberg will not extend his stay with the team beyond the 2024 Formula 1 season and will join Sauber in 2025.
The Hulkenberg announcement should set the wheels in motion for an already silly "Silly Season" that started with Lewis Hamilton's move from Mercedes to Ferrari in 2025.
In a team statement on Friday, Haas announced that Hulkenberg will not renew his contract beyond 2024 the statement not even including a quote from the German driver.
The US F1 Team statement said: "Hulkenberg (36) returned to Formula 1 in 2023 with MoneyGram Haas F1 Team after a three-year absence from the sport. The German currently sits 13th in the Drivers' Standings with three top 10 finishes from the opening five rounds of the 24-race schedule."
Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu commented: "I'd like to extend my thanks to Nico for his contributions to the team in the time that he's been here with us – he's been a great team player and someone we very much enjoy working with.
"His experience and feedback have proved invaluable to us in terms of improving our overall performance – a fact that's clearly evident in both his qualifying and race performances in the VF-24 this season.
"There's lots more racing to go this year so we look forward to continuing to benefit from his inputs throughout the remainder of the 2024 season," Komatsu concluded.
Hulkenberg has been tipped to move to Audi's F1 project as the German manufacturer continue to develop the Sauber F1 operation into their works project that will kick off in 2026 and indeed, moments after the Haas announcement, Sauber released a statement confirming the Hulk as their driver in 2025.
Hulkenberg the first F1 driver to commit to the Audi project
Hulkenberg's contract with Sauber is a multi-year and will see him compete with the team after they become Audi in 2026.
Andreas Seidl, CEO of Sauber Motorsport AG and also CEO of the future Audi F1 factory team said: "We are very pleased to welcome Nico back here in Hinwil from 2025 and to compete with him in Formula One.
"With his speed, his experience and his commitment to teamwork, he will be an important part of the transformation of our team – and of Audi’s F1 project.
"Right from the start, there was great mutual interest in building something long-term together. Nico is a strong personality, and his input, on a professional and personal level, will help us to make progress both in the development of the car and in building up the team," Seidl explained.
Hulkenberg added: I’m returning to the team I worked with back in 2013 and have fond memories of the strong team spirit in Switzerland.
"The prospect of competing for Audi is something very special. When a German manufacturer enters Formula 1 with such determination, it is a unique opportunity.
"To represent the factory team of such a car brand with a power unit made in Germany is a great honour for me," the 36-year-old driver concluded.
Sauber, however, did not announced which of their current drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will make way for Hulkenberg.
It may that both of them will be out as it is reported that Audi are targeting Carlos Sainz as their second driver, the latter still biding his time before making a decision about his future beyond 2024, his final season with Ferrari.
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