Mattia Binotto made a surprise return to F1, taking over from Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann to head Audi’s project. While Binotto will reportedly start his official tenure as Audi’s COO and CTO by August 21, the ex-Ferrari boss has already begun making shock moves. One of them is of him wanting an F2 rookie alongside Nico Hulkenberg for their 2025 driver lineup.
Per a report by Formu1a.uno, Binotto wants Gabriel Bortoleto to fill up the second seat at Sauber/Audi. While there were speculations that the Italian could persuade Carlos Sainz to choose Audi for his future, the Spaniard still chose Williams.
BOMBA! Segundo o site italiano https://t.co/VdrPzQPGBt, Gabriel Bortoleto está sendo cotado na Sauber/Audi para 2025.
As performances do brasileiro na F2 impressionaram Mattia Binotto, e ele está na lista de candidatos para a próxima temporada.#F1 #GabrielBortoleto pic.twitter.com/fUDv4w5UUB
— Central F1 (@CentralF1BR) August 2, 2024
This has put Audi in a tough spot, with their top target rejecting them. However, Sauber has several other options and Bortoleto joins that list now.
The Brazilian driver is currently second in the 2024 F2 championship with 129 points to his name. Bortoleto has impressed in a hyper-competitive F2 season with three podiums and a feature race win in Austria.
However, Sauber’s Academy driver Theo Pourchaire, who is the defending F2 champion, yet is not on the team’s priority list. So, it would be interesting whether Bortoleto, who has been a McLaren Academy driver since October 2023, gets the nod ahead of Pourchaire.
However, Bortoleto’s competition is with a seasoned campaigner like Valtteri Bottas, who is the current driver at the Hinwil-based team. On top of that, per F1 journalist Joe Saward, Sainz’s veteran countryman Fernando Alonso could also join this tussle for the second Audi seat.
Meanwhile, the other team Sainz rejected — Alpine — is looking at their own Academy graduate Jack Doohan. Doohan, who has been a reserve driver for the French team this year after graduating from F2 last year, seems like the favorite to partner Pierre Gasly in 2025.
Doohan could be Alpine’s priority
Being the team’s test and reserve driver, Doohan has contributed majorly to Alpine’s revival this season. The Australian driver has been testing for the team and doing a lot of simulator work to help them improve the A524.
Despite all the chaos within the team’s management structure and several high-profile exits, the drivers Esteban Ocon and Gasly along with Doohan as the reserve have been a rare positive for the Enstone team in 2024. However, with Ocon leaving the team for Haas, they also have a vacant seat and Doohan could smoothly get this promotion.
Jack Doohan is on the verge of a deal with the Alpine Formula 1 team that will see him race alongside Pierre Gasly next year, Autosport has learned
FULL STORY: https://t.co/2woSLDNh2B pic.twitter.com/yPJtWx2yWS
— Autosport (@autosport) July 31, 2024
The only curveball that Doohan could face is from the newly-appointed Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes. Per Tobi Gruner of AMuS, the Hitech GP team boss could promote his current F2 driver Paul Aron ahead of Doohan.
The Estonian driver dropped down to third with 125 points behind Borteleto after the Belgium race weekend but was leading the standings earlier in the season.
Meanwhile, this puts Mick Schumacher, who is currently driving for Alpine in the WEC, at a disadvantage. While Schumacher desperately wants to make an F1 return, his chances with the French team seem to be fading out with Doohan and Aron entering the conversation.
