Audi is yet to announce its second driver, having already signed Nico Hulkenberg – the German driver will move to Sauber for 2025 before the full takeover of the Swiss squad by Audi.
A free agent on the F1 driver market is Mick Schumacher, who lost his seat with Haas after the 2022 season.
Since then, Schumacher has plied his trade as a reserve driver for the Mercedes team who, despite having a seat become available for next year as Lewis Hamilton departs for Ferrari, chose to sign Kimi Antonelli from Formula 2.
Schumacher has also become a factory driver for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship but also does not appear to have been seriously considered as a candidate for the F1 team as Esteban Ocon departs for Haas. Instead, Alpine has plumped for reserve driver Jack Doohan.
Schumacher has also been linked with a seat at Williams, which was eventually taken by Carlos Sainz as the Ferrari driver sought a new home for after this season.
Now two years out of F1, the door for a Schumacher return is closing, but the possibility of moving to Sauber/Audi is still on the table. The seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg is not yet confirmed and, while Valtteri Bottas has indicated confidence in being retained, there appears to be no rush from the Swiss squad to confirm as other names – like Gabriel Bortoleto and Mick Schumacher – remain on the table.
Speaking to Corriere dello Sport, Binotto confirmed Schumacher is on the radar for Audi as a possibility.
“Definitely, we are evaluating him,” he said.
“I have met and talked to him, I have known him for a long time having been part of the Ferrari Driver Academy. I know the merits and advantages of him, he is one of the names we have in mind.”
But, given that Audi doesn’t take over Sauber for over a year, deciding on the path to take with Sauber for the final year of the current arrangement amidst Audi’s increasing influence can take all the time it needs.
“We have the luxury of not being in a hurry, all the other teams having decided on their lineup,” he said, acknowledging the fact there is no danger now of losing any of their options to an alternative F1 team.
“Two aspects are essential: on the one hand, experience to set the path of growth. On the other, a young, talented person to accompany us on the way to the top.”
As for the team itself, which is going through a slow process of upsizing to prepare for Audi’s full takeover, Binotto said the key aim of the next 12 months is in increasing the workforce to be able to compete with F1’s benchmark teams – something he has a keen awareness of, having led Ferrari between 2019 and 2022.
“We need to work on the company itself, the size, the culture,” he said.
“If we compare ourselves with our opponents we have about 400 fewer people, we need to add them to be able to compete at the same level: they are not found in two days, and not necessarily in F1. Our choice is to invest in young people.”
Having taken on the role of chief operating officer and chief technical officer, Binotto will work alongside Jonathan Wheatley as the Red Bull man leaves the Milton Keynes-based squad to become team boss at Audi.
Binotto outlined the aims he’s got for the team at this particular point in time, saying the full extent of the challenge is not yet evident.
“To be in F1, to stay there for a long time to create a winning team and to become a technical reference,” he said of the aims he’s laying out.
“We are at the beginning of the climb, in front is Everest, and now we can only see the base. We are deciding which side to climb from, it is important to establish a route.”
Leave a Reply