As Formula 1 teams prepare for the major technical transformation set for the 2026 season, Sauber continues to push hard to develop its car for the remaining rounds of 2025. While many teams may overlook the current season due to McLaren‘s dominance and the looming overhaul, Sauber remains committed to strengthening its performance during this transitional phase. The team’s ongoing improvements are part of its plan to build momentum ahead of its rebranding as Audi.
Earlier in 2025, Sauber discovered development opportunities from new floor geometry, which opened unexpected avenues for enhancing their car’s performance. Despite the engineering team already focusing on the next year’s radical car and drivetrain package, Sauber’s operational approach ensures there is still significant scope for development in 2025, according to team principal Jonathan Wheatley.
Team Principal Emphasizes Continued Growth and Team Culture
Wheatley stressed that the team‘s determination remains unwavering:
“We haven’t given up on 2025 yet,”
he said. He highlighted how building strength and depth within both the factory and trackside operations is essential for progress. According to Wheatley, pushing boundaries through continuous improvement is necessary across all areas of the team.
He further explained the importance of cultivating the right environment to maximize team contribution:
“We need to be empowering the people, because this is where our shortcut to our ambitious journey is, it’s in creating the right culture and creating a working environment where these people are all adding positively to the contribution of the team. So that’s very much the goal.”
Reflecting on Sauber’s Historic Struggles and Aspirations
Sauber’s history mirrors that of Williams in many ways, both teams having once celebrated peak periods but spending much of the past decade striving just to stay competitive. Sauber’s highs include Kimi Raikkonen’s breakout 2001 season in the innovative C20 car featuring twin-keel suspension, and the era under BMW ownership when Robert Kubica challenged for the 2008 driver’s title.
Kubica has since reflected that better in-season development during that period might have improved his championship chances. The team’s fortunes waned after BMW withdrew in 2009 due to the global financial crisis, narrowly avoiding a takeover by controversial figure Russell King. Since then, Sauber has faced limited investment, hampering its ability to attract top talent and maintain state-of-the-art factory facilities.
Jonathan Wheatley’s role at Sauber, originating from his time with Red Bull as sporting director, includes injecting a stronger competitive mentality and professional culture as the team transitions to become Audi’s works outfit.
Performance Upgrades Yield Encouraging Results in 2025
At the time Wheatley joined Sauber, a significant upgrade to the C45 car was already underway. The car had struggled in traffic, especially with severe buffeting reported by drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto when running in turbulent ‘dirty air.’ This was unexpected, given that the current generation of F1 cars was designed to be less sensitive to wake effects.
Sauber’s development has worked on making the car’s aerodynamics more consistent and less ‘peaky,’ focusing on generating usable downforce across a wider performance window. Key upgrades in Spain included a new front wing, floor, and rear bodywork, which helped Hulkenberg score Sauber’s first points since Australia’s wet opener.
Further refinements to the floor edges in Austria and Silverstone, along with tailored wing packages, have contributed to more competitive performance. Recently, the team outscored their closest rivals and challenged frontrunners, with Hulkenberg achieving his first-ever podium at Silverstone and Bortoleto finishing notably ahead of Max Verstappen in Hungary. This progression indicates Sauber‘s potential to contend more strongly in 2025’s final races.
Wheatley’s Vision for Building a Competitive Future at Hinwil
Wheatley remains keenly aware that improvement is an ongoing process throughout the organization:
“In every single area of the business, we can improve,”
he acknowledged.
“Myself included. Every single day is a learning experience.”
He underscored the transformation underway as Sauber evolves into a fully-fledged factory Audi team, elevating itself from decades as a small independent team to a high-performance works outfit. Wheatley explained the challenge is not only about infrastructure but also about fostering a unified team culture and pushing every system beyond previous limits.
Celebrating the announcement of Revolut as the team‘s 2026 title partner, Wheatley praised the energy it brought to the team:
“We announced Revolut internally as our [2026] title partner before we issued the press release, and the energy in the room, the energy in the building, was incredible. It’s a great place to be at the moment.”
The Significance of Sauber’s Enduring Commitment to 2025
While most eyes in Formula 1 now look toward the sweeping regulatory changes in 2026, Sauber’s determination to fight for progress in 2025 matters for several reasons. Maintaining competitive momentum this year speeds up the team’s development curve and aids in the smooth transition to Audi ownership. It also keeps morale high among the personnel adapting to new leadership and expectations.
With the foundations being laid both on and off the track, Sauber aims to evolve beyond its history of modest results and secure a stronger foothold in F1’s upper ranks. The strides made in recent races offer hope that the team can close gaps and build a culture of continuous improvement, which is critical ahead of a season of comprehensive change in 2026.