Audi F1 ‘turnaround’ underway with Mattia Binotto ‘taking problems very seriously’

Valtteri Bottas has revealed that Mattia Binotto is taking Sauber’s problems “very seriously” as the former Ferrari boss aims to get Audi F1 into shape for their F1 2026 arrival.

Audi will make their long-awaited F1 entry in time for the sport’s regulation changes in 2026, when the German manufacturer will take over the existing Sauber team.

Valtteri Bottas backing Mattia Binotto to commence Audi F1 ‘turnaround’

Having served as Ferrari team principal for four years between 2019 and 2022, Binotto made a shock return to F1 over the summer as he was appointed to the dual role of chief operating and technical officer of the Audi F1 project, effectively replacing former McLaren boss Andreas Seidl.

Audi F1 went on to confirm the signing of Jonathan Wheatley as team principal in a significant coup, with the long-serving Red Bull sporting director set to start work with the Hinwil-based outfit next year.

Despite targeting success in F1 over the coming years, Sauber currently sit bottom of the F1 2024 Constructors’ standings as the only team yet to score a point this season.

The team’s poor performance on track has contributed to the team missing out on top driver targets this year, with Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon electing to join Williams and Haas respectively for F1 2025.

Does Valtteri Bottas deserve an F1 2025 seat?

👉 F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates

👉 F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Sauber remain the only non-Red Bull outfit yet to finalise their F1 2025 driver lineup, with the team still searching for a team-mate to Nico Hulkenberg, who became the first Audi F1 driver signing by penning a multi-year contract in April.

Former Mercedes driver Bottas, who originally joined Sauber at the beginning of the 2022 season, was considered the most likely candidate to get the nod to partner Hulkenberg for next season.

However, multiple reports over recent weeks have indicated that Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time World Champion Michael, has re-entered the frame with Bottas’s contract demands forcing the team to explore alternatives.

Schumacher was a member of Ferrari’s junior academy during Binotto’s tenure as team boss, making his F1 debut with Ferrari customers Haas in 2021.

The German cut ties with Ferrari in December 2022, two days after Fred Vasseur was appointed as Binotto’s successor at Maranello.

Although Audi F1’s preparations for 2026 are beginning to ramp up, Bottas has revealed that he has seen no “positive effects” as yet with the changes behind the scenes needing time to make an impact.

Yet he is convinced that Audi F1 are on the right track with Binotto in charge, with the Swiss-Italian determined to make a success of the team.

Asked if he can see progress behind the scenes at Sauber, Bottas told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport : “That’s still too early. The process is not yet complete.

“I can only see it in the performance of the car and I haven’t felt any positive effects yet.

“Of course I’m hoping for a quick turnaround. But in this sport, unfortunately, it doesn’t happen overnight.

“The development and production of new parts can take months. In terms of personnel and equipment, we are not yet as well organised as the larger teams.

“But Mattia is taking the problems very seriously. I therefore expect some changes in the future.”

Bottas is on course to suffer the first scoreless season of his F1 career, with 13th-place finishes in Monaco and Canada his best results of F1 2024 to date.

The 35-year-old has revealed that the C44 car is “very sensitive” when pushed, with the car unstable over bumps and kerbs.

However, he is hopeful that the four-week break between the Singapore and United States Grands Prix will help Sauber as the team aim to avoid finishing bottom of the Constructors’ standings for the first time since 2017.

He explained: “The car reacts very sensitively at the limit. We are practically always driving on the razor’s edge.

“The platform is so unstable that bumps or kerbs cause us huge problems. The car also reacts very erratically to the wind.

“It’s difficult for a driver to push without going over the limit in the corners.

“I think that we have understood the weaknesses better in recent months, especially after Zandvoort. Maybe the short break until Austin will help us.

“The whole team was able to work in the factory. I was driving in the simulator. I expect that we will bring a few new parts for the next race.”

Sauber’s lacklustre F1 2024 campaign comes just two years after Vasseur led the team to sixth in the 2022 standings in what was the Swiss-based outfit’s most successful season in a decade.

Asked why the team failed to build on a promising 2022, Bottas pointed to Sauber’s patchy car development and managerial changes as key factors behind their loss of momentum.

He said: “We simply didn’t manage to bring in upgrades that were big enough.

“There were improvements during the season, but unfortunately they were only of a small nature. We simply didn’t find the steps that McLaren, for example, did.

“We also lacked stability at management level. That certainly didn’t help either.

“I hope that we can now find the necessary stability and start the turnaround.”

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