Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber enter their final season in Formula One before Audi officially takes over the team for the 2026 season and beyond.
In their last season, Sauber will be hoping to improve on their 2024 season.
The Drivers
Vastly experienced, with 230 grand prix entries under his belt, Nico Hulkenberg is entering the final years of his driving career and will be hoping to finally land a podium finish.
Hulkenberg has spent the majority of his career battling in the middle of the pack with various teams including Renault, Haas, Force India, Williams and a first spell with Sauber.
Enter the rookie, Gabriel Bortoleto. Born in Sao Paolo, Gabriel has had a very impressive junior career, emulating his idol and compatriot Ayrton Senna by achieving success in European Karting Championships.
Gabriel entered the single seat arena and impressively won back-to-back F3 and F2 titles in 2023 and 2024. With huge potential, Gabriel will be hoping to impress in his rookie season in limited machinery.
The Car
The C45, launched at the F1 75 Live event on 18th February 2025 at London’s O2, was designed to build on the late 2024 season developments made to the C44.
The changes include upgrades to cooling, aerodynamic and suspension. The green and black colour scheme certainly makes the car ‘pop’ on the track.
How did Pre Season Testing go?
Sauber themselves seemed pretty happy with how testing went in the 3-day spell in Bahrain.
James Key, Sauber Technical Director, stated on the teams website “Overall, it has been a productive pre-season test… The C45 delivered a solid performance, completing over 350 laps in total.”
Barring a a minor hydraulic leak, it seems the performance and reliability of the car was as expected after four years of stable regulations.
After Day 1 of testing, Hulkenberg completed 55 laps with his fasted lap giving him a provisional P18, whereas, Gabriel completed 59 laps, his fastest put him at P12.
Day 3 was similar, with Hulkenberg completing 69 laps and ending with a provisional P14. Bortoleto completed only 35 laps with a provisional P17.
After his first F1 test, Bortoleto said; “It’s been a solid 3 days of testing, I’ve got to learn a lot about the car and the team, and overall, it’s been productive for all of us. My first Formula One race is coming up, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Opinion
Another long, tough season is expected for Sauber. There are new drivers in both seats, this won’t be enough for the team to improve on their 4 points earned in the 2024 Constructor’s Championship.
Expect Gabriel Bortoleto to show some promise. After all, back-to-back F3 and F2 titles is nothing to be sniffed at. Most F1 fans would love to see Niko Hulkenberg finally earn that elusive podium finish he deserves, although that seems incredibly unlikely this year.
Prediction
It’s very difficult to see Sauber improving on 10th spot in the 2025 Constructors Championship.