Nico Hulkenberg reportedly agrees to 3-year contract with Audi/Sauber F1[F1-Gate.com]

Nico Hulkenberg is rumored to be moving from Haas F1 Team to Audi-owned Sauber F1 Team in 2025, and it looks like he is almost ready to sign. F1-insider.com reports that Hulkenberg has agreed a three-year contract for 2025, 2026 and 2027 ahead of a deadline in which Audi is reportedly due to make a decision in mid-May.

“Only the autograph remains,” said reporter Ralph Bach. In response to a question from the magazine, the 36-year-old Hulkenberg said: “I will not take part in speculation.” Carlos Sainz has a deadline of mid-May to accept a similar offer, and it is reported that a driver announcement will be made at the end of next month. That’s bad news for existing Sauber drivers Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou, but good news for Oliver Bearman, who is likely to become a driver for Haas F1 Team. Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher said: “Bottas is past his prime and Chou Guanyu is not good enough after all.” “Audi wants to get stronger every year and be in the best position in 2026 when the new car and engine regulations are introduced. With Hulkenberg and Sainz, that will definitely be the case.” Bottas, a former Mercedes winner, currently faces an uphill battle to secure an F1 seat. “We don’t have many options, but we do have them,” said the 34-year-old Finnish driver.