F1 Driver Nico Hulkenberg Signs New Contract With Kick Sauber, To Leave Haas After 2024 Season

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26/04/2024 21:37

Formula 1′s Nico Hülkenberg will be making a big change going into the 2025 race season next year!

The 36-year-old German driver will finish the current 2024 race season with the American-based MoneyGram Haas F1 Team before switching teams.

Nico has signed a new contract and will return to Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber in 2025!

Keep reading to find out more…

This will mark Nico‘s return to the team, which he previously drove for back in 2013. Sauber will then become Audi in 2026.

“We are very pleased to welcome Nico back here in Hinwil from 2025 and to compete with him in Formula 1," Sauber team CEO Andreas Seidlshared in a statement. “With his speed, his experience and his commitment to teamwork, he will be an important part of the transformation of our team – and of Audi's F1 project.”

"Right from the start, there was great mutual interest in building something long-term together,” Andreas continued. “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."

On his move, Nico says, “I'm returning to the team I worked with back in 2013 and have fond memories of the strong team spirit in Switzerland. The prospect of competing for Audi is something very special. When a German manufacturer enters Formula 1 with such determination, it is a unique opportunity. To represent the factory team of such a car brand with a power unit made in Germany is a great honour for me."

With Nico joining Kick Sauber next season, that now means that the team’s current drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu‘s futures at the team are in jeopardy. Both of their contracts are up at the end of 2024, and it’s unknown if either will be staying at the team or if both will move on.

So far this season, Nico has racked up four points for the Haas F1 team, and is ranked 13th in the Drivers standings. We are still early on in the season and he has been doing fairly well so far, so there are many more possibilities for him to gain more points!

Of his departure at the end of the season, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said, “I'd like to extend my thanks to Nico for his contributions to the team in the time that he's been here with us – he's been a great team player and someone we very much enjoy working with.

"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,” he continued. "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."

If you missed it, it was just revealed that a new Formula 1 streaming channel is launching in the US. Get all the details!