Boss of 490-race F1 team has already accepted they won’t be successful ‘at all’ in 2025

The 2025 Formula 1 season is shaping up to be a highly competitive and exciting year with numerous driver changes and steps forward in development.

Max Verstappen will be searching for his fifth consecutive title in 2025 – a feat only accomplished by Michael Schumacher between 2000-2004. But he will face serious competition from the rest of the field as Red Bull looked to have fallen behind in their development in 2024.

Arguably, McLaren are the team to beat after winning the Constructors’ Championship by 14 points over Ferrari. The Woking-based outfit boast the strongest package after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will be eager to fight for the drivers’ title.

Ferrari will be encouraged by their performances in 2024 and with Lewis Hamilton joining Charles Leclerc next season, the Maranello outfit could be a force to be reckoned with.

Several other teams have looked to better their operations on and off the track – the most notable being Sauber as they prepare for the arrival of Audi in 2026.

But the team’s CTO Mattia Binotto has already conceded that the team still have a long way to go before they can fight at the front of the grid.

Matia Binotto admits Sauber will not be successful ‘at all’ in 2025

Sauber – who have competed in 490 Grand Prix since 1993 – endured a torrid season in 2024, scoring only four points through Zhou Guanyu at the Qatar Grand Prix, while Valtteri Bottas failed to score.

The Swiss outfit have dropped both their drivers for next season and have acquired Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto as they look to build the foundations for Audi’s arrival and push forward up the field.

But speaking with Motorsport.com, Binotto has admitted that Sauber will not be successful ‘at all’ in 2025 as the project at hand is a huge one to rebuild.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Sauber from team principal to 2026 Audi future

“As you can imagine, just building, maybe a new facility, it takes three years to attract people, and good people. You need to offer them a good environment in which to work and to live.

“So maybe it’s only in three years’ time we can reach our objective of fighting for wins, and let me say the title by 2030. That’s still very ambitious, very challenging. But that is how long it will take.

“So can we be successful next season? Not at all. Can we be in a couple of years? Not at all, because we will not have the people in place, we will not have the facilities in place and all the tools required.

“So what can be [the target] in the meantime? It’s improving, improving each single season, as simple as that.”

What can Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto produce in 2025 with Sauber?

With not much expected to change in terms of development for 2025, Sauber are likely to be languishing at the back of the grid. But the team can take some encouraging signs from their final few races of 2024.

Bottas reached Q3 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and if the team can continue that momentum, Hulkenberg and Bortoleto could produce a magic result for the team next year.

Hulkenberg comes to the team off the back of an impressive season at Haas, scoring 41 points and narrowly missing out on the top 10 in the standings, and will provide some much-needed experience to Sauber

Bortoleto won the F2 title in his rookie season and is one of the most exciting talents coming to F1 in 2025. His manager Fernando Alonso claims Bortoleto will be the best rookie next season, but he will face a tough challenge in driving an underperforming car.

But the Brazilian seems to have already shown promising signs at his new team. Sauber were impressed by Bortoleto’s communication in testing in Abu Dhabi as he looks to make an impression from the off in F1.