Nico Hulkenberg will leave Haas at the end of the 2024 season and join Sauber in a multi-year deal.
The veteran of over 200 grands prix has been confirmed as the first driver in Audi’s F1 team as it prepares to join the championship in 2026.
Hulkenberg said the prospect of joining Audi’s factory team for 2026 was “something very special.”
“When a German manufacturer enters Formula 1 with such determination, it is a unique opportunity,” Hulkenberg said. “To represent the factory team of such a car brand with a power unit made in Germany is a great honour for me.”
Audi will debut in the world championship when it rebrands Sauber at the end of next season. Hulkenberg is set to reunite with Andreas Seidl, Sauber’s CEO, who ran Porsche’s World Endurance Championship team when Hulkenberg won the Le Mans 24 Hours with them in 2015.
Seidl said there had been “mutual interest” between Audi and Hulkenberg as preparations for Audi’s entry into the sport have ramped up.
“Nico is a strong personality, and his input, on a professional and personal level, will help us to make progress both in the development of the car and in building up the team,” said Seidl.
Hulkenberg joined Haas at the start of last season, returning to F1 after three years without a full-time drive. He currently sits in 13th place in the drivers’ championship on four points, having taken three top 10 finishes from the first five grands prix of the season.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu offered his gratitude to Hulkenberg for his contributions to his team over the last two years.
“He’s been a great team player and someone we very much enjoy working with,” said Komatsu.
“His experience and feedback have proved invaluable to us in terms of improving our overall performance – a fact that’s clearly evident in both his qualifying and race performances in the VF-24 this season. There’s lots more racing to go this year so we look forward to continuing to benefit from his inputs throughout the remainder of the 2024 season”.
Hulkenberg has competed in 208 grands prix over 13 seasons in Formula 1 since joining the grid in 2010 as the reigning GP2 champion. He recently matched Andrea de Cesaris’s record for the most grand prix starts without a victory with his 208th grand prix start in China.
View the current list of 2025 F1 drivers and teams
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