Kick Sauber Undergoes Major Overhaul! Bottas & Guanyu To Leave, New Drivers Named For 2025 Season

The 2024 Formula 1 Season has been an unpredictable one as a lot of moves have left motorsports fans startled. Be it the Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari shocker or Carlos Sainz to Williams Racing, the season has some erratic moves which shake it all up. Ahead of the Las Vegas GP, a new move has come to light as a racing team is set for a major driver overhaul, replacing both of their racers. The Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber has announced two huge changes as their regular racers, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will be out of the team after the 2024 season.

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Kick Sauber Set For Major Overhaul As Valtteri Bottas And Zhou Guanyu To Mutually Part Ways From F1 Team

Sauber has signed 20-year-old Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto, who will make his Formula One debut next year. Bortoleto will team up with Nico Hülkenberg to compete in the 2025 season and possibly beyond. Signing Bortoleto, who leads the Formula 2 standings with two rounds remaining, provides Sauber with a mix of youth and experience to complement the 37-year-old Hülkenberg. Audi is taking over Sauber, which will be rebranded as the Audi Works team in 2026.

“This is one of the most exciting projects in motorsport, if not in all of sports. Joining a team that combines the rich motorsport history of Sauber and Audi is a true honor.

“Beyond simply being a member, I aim to grow with this ambitious project and reach the pinnacle of motorsport. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity given to me by the team and for the chance to work alongside an experienced driver like Nico,” Bortoleto said in a statement.

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Bortoleto will be the first full-time Brazilian driver in Formula One since Felipe Massa's retirement in 2017. He won the F3 championship last season and started racing karts as a child before his family relocated to Europe.

The decision means the Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber's current drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, will be without an F1 seat in 2025. Neither has scored a single point this season, and Sauber's car has been largely uncompetitive. Both of them had been with Sauber since 2022. There are chances that Bottas could reportedly return to his former team, Mercedes AMG F1, in a reserve role.

[With AP Inputs]