Did a social media clue hint at Audi’s big driver market plan?
Has an F1 driver teased a big driver market move?
A clue might have appeared on social media which indicates what Audi will do in the driver market.
Eagle-eyed F1 fans spotted an Instagram post by Valtteri Bottas.
“Fun day in California,” Bottas posted alongside a picture of himself with an Audi road car.
The car was emblazoned with ‘77’ - the racing number of Bottas.
Audi will continue running as Sauber next season before their full evolution into the mighty German brand in 2026, when the new F1 rules begin.
But their project has started in earnest, with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg already recruited to give the German brand a German driver for 2025 and beyond.
One seat at Sauber next season remains free, with both of their current drivers - Bottas and Guanyu Zhou - hoping to snare it.
Audi have already made big moves off the track, hiring ex-Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto as Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer. Jonathan Wheatley will leave Red Bull to become Audi team principal.
Bottas has admitted that Binotto’s arrival - and the resulting exit of Andreas Seidl - will impact his talks to stay next year.
“It is going to reset the talks a bit,” he admitted.
“It’s a bit of a complicated situation, but let’s see.”
But his decision to post an Audi road car branded by his signature racing number has intrigued fans who now think Bottas has been chosen as Hulkenberg’s teammate for 2025.
The Audi F1 project has come under criticism from several directions.
Missing out on Carlos Sainz, the Ferrari driver who will instead go to Williams next year, was labelled a “vote of no confidence” in Audi’s vision by Sky Sports’ Craig Slater.
Ex-F1 team owner Eddie Jordan has also insisted that Audi’s choice to set up in Germany rather than the UK is “fundamentally wrong”.
