Bottas and Zhou heading for F1 exit as Sauber confirms Bortoleto for final 2025 seat · RaceFans

Sauber has confirmed both its current drivers will leave the team at the end of the year as it has opted for an all-new line-up for 2025.

The team has named Formula 2 points leader Gabriel Bortoleto will join the team alongside Nico Hulkenberg, whose hiring from Haas was announced in April.

Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will therefore leave the team. Bottas joined Sauber from Mercedes in 2022, the same year Zhou made his F1 debut. Neither has scored a point in their third season together as Sauber has struggled with its uncompetitive C44 chassis.

“After open and constructive discussions with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, we mutually concluded that conditions to continue together could not be met so we agreed that it is time to part ways,” the team said in a statement. “We would like to thank both for the contribution they have made to the team in the last three years. They have been the embodiment of professionalism, using their experience and enthusiasm to support our growth.”

McLaren confirmed it has released Bortoleto from its young driver programme in order for him to join Sauber. The 20-year-old, who won the Formula 3 series last year, is leading the Formula 2 championship with four races remaining. If he wins the championship, he will become the first F2 champion to graduate immediately into Formula 1 since Mick Schumacher in 2021.

Before joining the Formula 2 grid this season, Bortoleto also claimed the Formula 3 title last year before stepping up to F2 with the Invicta team. Over his first 24 starts in F2, Bortoleto has taken two race victories in the feature races at the Red Bull Ring and at Monza, where he rose from 22nd and last on the grid to win with the help of a well-timed Safety Car. He also scored podiums in Imola, Monaco and Spa-Francorchamps – all second places.

Bortoleto will become the first Brazilian driver to race in the world championship full-time since Felipe Massa in 2017. He said Sauber, which will become Audi’s works F1 team in 2026, is “one of the most exciting projects in motorsport, if not in all of sports.”

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“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,” he said.

The news leaves Bottas, who made his F1 debut with Williams in 2013, without a seat for next year. “A situation like this is never easy for anyone,” he said. “But after all the good and in-depth discussions we had in the past weeks, we realised that the conditions to grow this project together were not met.”

Bottas won 10 grands prix in his five seasons at Mercedes, his last coming at Istanbul in 2021. He recently indicated he would consider returning to his former team as a reserve driver.

Zhou became the first Chinese driver to race in F1 two years ago. He said he is “fully committed to finishing the season in style.”

“I am grateful to the team for giving me a chance in Formula 1,” he said. “This is not an easy sport for rookies, but the team has allowed me to grow so much over these three years.”

China’s round of the world championship returned to the calendar this year, giving Zhou his first chance to race in F1 at home. “China, earlier this season, was without doubt a highlight,” he said, “but so many moments, both in public and behind the scenes, are what I am going to remember from the last three years.”

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“I’ll now focus on the next step in my career,” he added. “I still have plenty of fight left in me and I am keen to continue progressing.”

View the current list of 2025 F1 drivers and teams

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