At Abu Dhabi, the name Sauber made its final appearance in Formula 1. With the race at Yas Marina, the curtain fell on the long history of the team founded by Peter Sauber. The Swiss squad will continue to exist, but under the Audi banner, which will take over the team and compete in 2026 with the R26, whose colors were unveiled last November. What will remain unchanged is the driver lineup, with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto having laid the groundwork through a positive season. In the last Grand Prix of the year, one of the standout performers was the German driver, who climbed from eighteenth on the grid into the top ten, giving the last two points to the team founder.
Hulkenberg scores points in Abu Dhabi: “A nice way to say goodbye to Sauber”
For Nico Hulkenberg, it has been a season filled with smiles and satisfaction, from the Silverstone podium to nine finishes in the points. One of these came in the final race of the season, marking his 250th F1 appearance, where the German driver turned the weekend around. Starting from eighteenth on the grid, he fought his way up to ninth place. “Scoring two points after a disappointing Saturday is something I’m very proud of. It’s not easy to make progress in Abu Dhabi, where everyone has a similar race pace,” Nico Hulkenberg commented. “Finishing ninth is a good way to close the season and to say goodbye to Sauber. Peter has built an incredible legacy, he’s been in this world for a long time, and I have huge respect for what he has achieved.”
The driver of car number 27 also reflected on his season, finishing eleventh in the championship with a total of 51 points. “I believe it’s been a very positive season. We developed, evolved, and grew as a team. We also had a few really high points, like the podium.” Nico Hulkenberg cited weekends in Barcelona, Budapest, Monza, and Austin as highlights. “In other races, perhaps we didn’t get everything right, but that’s part of the challenge in such a long season, so we can be reasonably satisfied. Now we’ll enjoy the break and then look ahead to the new chapter that awaits us.”
Bortoleto: “Frustrated by the bouncing. In 2026, we hope to fight for bigger things”
Gabriel Bortoleto, on the other hand, experienced mixed feelings, as he, like his teammate, had hoped to finish in the points. The Brazilian’s race was hindered by unexpected car bouncing. “I won’t lie, it’s disappointing to finish outside the points,” he commented. “We struggled with bouncing from the first lap and couldn’t extract the car’s full potential during the race. It’s a shame because in qualifying I felt good with the car and had promising feelings for the race.”
The issue faced by Gabriel Bortoleto was also addressed by Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley, who added: “Usually you notice some signals during the weekend, so we suspect something happened with the car. We need to analyze why something didn’t add up.” For much of the weekend, the Brazilian had shown potential to score points, even posting the seventh-fastest time in qualifying. “Even during the installation laps, I was bouncing like crazy,” Gabriel Bortoleto continued. “Even in flat corners I was sideways, because in the middle of the turn I touched the ground and bounced, the same in braking zones—it was really crazy. In past races, we might have risked a stiffer setup, but this time we aimed for a solid car for the race, and we were completely off-window.”
With the retirement of ground-effect cars, a chapter closes that gave many drivers and engineers challenges up until the final race. In recent days, Bortoleto, who completed his first F1 season, visited Audi headquarters to start preparing for 2026. “It’s been a special year, and I have a lot to be proud of. Without the support of the team, I couldn’t have done it; it’s been a valuable year. I’m already eager to start working on next year, where hopefully we can fight for bigger things.”
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