Audi financial power displayed as Nico Hulkenberg pay-rise claim emerges

Nico Hulkenberg has reportedly landed a sizable pay-rise by swapping Haas for Sauber.

Hulkenberg’s annual salary has rocketed from €2m at Haas to €5m from his new employers in 2025, Bild reports.

The money on offer is proof of the financial might of German powerhouse Audi.

Next year, when Hulkenberg joins, the team will continue running as Sauber before becoming Audi in 2026.

The manufacturer will complete its entry into F1 when the new regulations come into effect.

By that time, Hulkenberg will have already been in their car for one year.

Hulkenberg, now aged 36, has penned a multi-year contract with Audi.

They have succeeded in naming a German as their first driver of their new F1 era, to spearhead a Germany-based project.

Hulkenberg has impressed for Haas in the early rounds of this season, securing a points finish in three grands prix and only missing out twice more by a single place.

The size of the financial package handed to Hulkenberg is testament to the commitment of Audi to make a splash in F1.

The next job on their agenda is to name his teammate for 2025.

Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou are currently driving for Sauber but both of their contracts will expire their year, and the team appear keen to go in another direction.

Carlos Sainz - the Ferrari driver who is on the market after losing his ‘25 drive to Lewis Hamilton - has been named as the No1 target.

Inevitably it would take another large contract to tempt Sainz into a car which is much lower down the order than his current Ferrari.

But if the pay-packet on offer to Hulkenberg is anything to go by…