Photo by Lars Baron – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Mattia Binotto, the new Audi boss, confirmed that Mick Schumacher is in the running for the second seat at Sauber in 2025
The Formula 1 season is about to return, with next week’s United States Grand Prix. That race week, which includes one of the final three F1 Sprint races on the 2024 calendar, kicks off a tripleheader that will see the grid go from Austin to Mexico City, and finally to Brazil.
One of the major storylines concerns one of the final seats remaining on the grid for the 2025 season. Over at Sauber, while the team has confirmed veteran driver Nico Hülkenberg for one of the spots, the team has yet to announce who his teammate will be next year.
Now Mattia Binotto, the team’s new Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer, has confirmed that Mick Schumacher is in the running for that spot.
Binotto, who joined the Audi operation this summer (Sauber will transition to the Audi works operation for the 2026 F1 season) spoke with Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport ahead of next week’s United States Grand Prix and confirmed that Schumacher is one of the options the team is considering to drive alongside Hülkenberg next year.
“Definitely, we are evaluating it,” said Binotto when asked if Schumacher was an option. “I met him and spoke to him, I have known him for a long time having been part of the Ferrari Driver Academy. I know his strengths and weaknesses, he is one of the names we have in mind.”
Binotto also outlined the qualities the team is seeking when filling that second seat, and Schumacher could provide the team with the “best of both worlds,” given what they are looking for.
“We can afford the luxury of not rushing, since all the other teams have decided their line-up,” added Binotto. “Two essential aspects: on the one hand, experience to set the growth path. On the other, a young, talented driver who can accompany us on the path to the top.”
Given the experience Hülkenberg brings to the table, the team might not be focused as much on finding a veteran driver alongside him for next season. Valtteri Bottas, who currently drives for Sauber, remains in the running, but he might not satisfy the second characteristic the team is looking for.
Other drivers who have emerged as options for Sauber might not satisfy that experience requirement, drivers such as Franco Colapinto — who has shined for Williams since replacing Logan Sargeant mid-season — and Gabriel Bortoleto, who currently leads the F2 Championship standings with a pair of race weekends left.
Schumacher, given his two seasons as a full-time driver on the F1 grid with Haas, satisfies that experience component while also checking off the youth box, given that he will not turn 26 until next March.
That could make him a selection that checks both boxes for the team.
