If you’ve been following the 2025 Formula 1 season, you probably already took notice that Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber is no longer the back marker everyone sort of figured them for. Audi went all-in on developing its new engine and car for its 2026 season debut as an Audi F1 factory effort, though the team at Sauber hasn’t simply rolled over to run last with their current and very green Ferrari-powered C45 sans any Audi branding whatsoever.
photos: Sauber Motorsport AG
Unlike Cadillac who aims to enter the sport as a brand whether running their own in-development engines or not, Ingolstadt chose to hold off on fixing Audi branding on the cars or the team until the cars are running Audi power. In the meantime, Sauber has been in transition – running down the clock on their Alfa Romeo Martini naming contract, then hooking up with Stake and KICK for the green-liveried Sauber effort in 2024 and again this year when another big change saw two new drivers join the fray.
In a lot of ways, those drivers are the tip of the spear – former Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg and last year’s reigning F2 champ Gabriel Bortoleto. And while it doesn’t hurt any that Nico Hulkenberg is both German and a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner with Porsche (running against Audi that year no less), Hulk’s most appealing quality to Sauber may very well have been his veteran status. This weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone marked his 239th race start in F1.
In all of 2024, before these drivers were hired, Sauber scored just four points, ending the season dead last – 10th position in the manufacturer title chase. Then, in 2025, they came out swinging when a consistent run in bad weather for Hulkenberg saw him finish in 7th, netting six points – two more than all of last season for Sauber… and in the first round?
As the season picked up space, Sauber struggled to be seen. While they were more often than not dead last, they wouldn’t get into the Top 10 again until the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona when Hulkenberg landed an even more respectable 5th and netted another 10 points of the team. He’d even passed Lewis Hamilton in a factory Ferrari seemingly under pace.
In Spain, Sauber showed remarkable improvement. At the next round in Canada, Hulkenberg would pierce the Top 10 again, finishing in eighth and nabbing four more points. Then, at the Austrian Grand Prix in June, both drivers made the Top 10 – Bortoleto in eighth (+4 points) and Hulkenberg in ninth (+2 points). And even though they’d never seen a podium, these regular Top 10 results showed clear improvements for both the drivers, the cars and even the team who were also making strong strategy calls and throwing down highly competitive pit stop times.
That brings us to this past weekend’s British Grand Prix in Silverstone. Bortoleto was 16th on the grid and Hulkenberg was 19th – not last, but in the last row. Wet conditions at the beginning of the race made things difficult for everyone. Switching to slicks earlier as things began to try out, Bortoleto wouldn’t be the only F1 driver to lose control, and he subsequently had to withdrawal from the race.
In the meantime, Hulkenberg combined a solid performance with team strategy to move forward through the ranks. By the end of the race, he found himself at the front and holding off a challenge from behind by Lewis Hamilton in a charging factory Ferrari.
In the end, Nico would finish third with only the two factory McLarens in front of him. In doing so, he would end the longest run of races without a podium by any F1 driver, finishing 3rd in his 239th start.
He’d also catch his team so by surprise that they had no champagne on hand for such a celebration in the team hospitality. Showing excellent sportsmanship, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas squad would send over some of their own and share in the revelry.
TEAM QUOTES
Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal:
“Where do I start… The most overdue podium in F1 history and the first podium for the team since Japan in 2012. This was a weekend of highs and lows but ultimately, we pulled it all together and when the opportunity was there, we grabbed it with both hands. After his success in Austria this was a frustrating weekend for Gabriel, but he grows stronger with every race. Easy to forget that this is still only his first season in F1 and I know he will be eager to get back on track and start the second half of the championship.
“Nico drove a masterclass today. From starting in 19th to P3 this was the lowest ever starting position for a podium finisher in Sauber’s 32-year history and after 239 Grand Prix starts, Nico delivered the goods. No driver is more deserving of a podium than Nico.
“Once again, we came together as a team today. We showed confidence and belief in ourselves, delivering a result that everyone in the factory and at the track can be justly proud of. What a day.”
Nico Hulkenberg, Car #27:
Race result: 3rd
Fastest lap: 1:30.933 (Lap 51)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Intermediate) – Lap 9 (New Intermediate) – Lap 42 (New Medium)
“I am ecstatic – this is such a special day for the team and for me personally. That first podium feeling… I cannot put it into words.
It was such an intense race with changing conditions all the time, and you always feel like you are right on the edge.
“We made the right calls today, especially stopping later for slicks — that decision was crucial and made all the difference. The battle with Lewis in the final stint was really intense. He was closing the gap, but I managed to keep him behind and even pull away a little as the tyres came in. I think if it had been a dry race, the day would have looked very different for us, but we made the most of the conditions and took every opportunity.
“Starting from last on the grid and finishing on the podium honestly feels kind of surreal. It’s going to take a few days, a few moments, to process everything and take it all in. It’s been a great team effort from start to finish, and I am really proud of what we achieved together. Now, we have two weeks to enjoy this and celebrate properly before we get back to work – and finish the first half of the season on a high.”
Gabriel Bortoleto, Car #5:
Race result: Did not finish
Fastest lap: 1:30.933 (Lap 3)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium – DNF)
“First of all, congratulations to Nico! Seeing him fight for the podium and achieve this result after so many years in Formula One means a lot. He is the best teammate I have ever worked with – both as a driver and as a person – and he absolutely deserves this moment: I am genuinely happy for him. It’s a special day for the team and, even though my own race didn’t go to plan, I am proud to be part of this. I’ll keep working hard and hopefully be up there as well someday. Looking back at how the race went for me, I am rather disappointed: I took a risk by switching to the medium tyre, expecting the track to dry quicker with the conditions we had but, unfortunately, it didn’t go the way I hoped. I pushed on the restart, lost the car, and that was the end of my race, on top of an already challenging weekend. I am always very self-critical and I know I let the team down today, because we had the potential for an even stronger result. But these things are all part of the learning curve. Now, we’ll celebrate Nico and head into a couple of weeks without racing, which we’ll use to keep training and working on improving even more ahead of the summer break.”
PHOTO GALLERY
/Sauber Motorsports AG
