While Formula 1 is during the summer break, the teams set up their developments for the 2026 season, unless this has already been done completely. In the next season, a new technical regulations with new chassis and drive strands will be introduced, which requires the full attention of engineers. But Sauber 2025 wants to use for its further development in all areas.
The team is in the middle of the transformation to Audi and therefore Sauber wants to maintain the swing in the 2025 season. An upgrade on the underbody has released a lot of potential and the team, as team boss Jonathan Wheatley reveals, wants to build on this.
The work is already working hard on the development for the 2026 season, but there is still room for the 2025 season in day -to -day business. “We have not yet given up in 2025,” the team boss told our English edition of “Motorsport.com”. “For us it is about the strength and depth of our processes.”
Sauber wants to improve constant
“We take the momentum that we have built in the past few months,” he clarifies. “We get stronger and more in our processes on the route and also in the factory. Everyone talk about constant improvements, and we want to shift the limits in all areas.”
“We have to release people’s skills, that is our abbreviation on our ambitious path,” continued Wheatley. “It is about creating the right culture and creating a work environment in which everyone poses their contribution to the team. That is our goal.”
Like Williams, cleaned the turn and left behind the days at the end of the Formula 1 field. However, Audi has great ambitions in Formula 1. The successful times of Sauber are long ago: in 2001 Kimi Raikkonen made a name for himself in a technically adventurous vehicle and in 2008 Robert Kubica fought the title for the title.
A look into the past
BMW then pulled the plug in the course of the global financial crisis in 2009, as well as Williams had to fight for survival. The infrastructure came into the years and talented engineers hired to other teams. With Audi, Wheatley wants to build on his success at Red Bull. The team boss has been on board since the Japan race in 2025.
When he came, there was already an upgrade in the pipeline because the C45 had its weaknesses in traffic. Both Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto complained that they had problems in the dirty air. Actually, the cars in traffic should be able to follow the person in front much better, but with Sauber that was not the case.
However, the further development – not only the efficiency of the underbody architecture, but also the use of gaps in the wing geometry – has led to an increase in air displacement.
Large ambitions in Formula 1
The C45 has been further developed so that the aerodynamics are less susceptible. Now the downforce is much more constant and easier to call up. In Spain, Sauber has introduced a new front wing, a new underbody and modifications to the rear body. Hülkenberg scored the first points for the team.
The new underbody opened up new opportunities for the further development of the car. There were further modifications in Austria and Great Britain. There were also wing options for different types of route. The direct competition recently made Sauber and Hülkenberg celebrated his first Formula 1 podium in Silverstone. Bortoleto finished three places in front of Max Verstappen in Hungary.
“We can improve in all areas of business,” said Wheatley. “I also count on this. Every day is a learning experience. We develop from a small team that has done an incredible job for over 30 years and put two cars in the field, into a full Audi formula 1 team.”
“The trip is ambitious and we cannot do it without the people. We tickle everything out of every system and process and drive each other beyond the normal effort,” says the team manager. “We announced Revolut internally as the title partner for 2026 before the press release. The energy in the room and throughout the building was great. It is great to be here at the moment.”