Sauber’s impressive progress this season is the result of surprising technical upgrades that even Ferrari’s own team, led by Mattia Binotto, did not anticipate. Rising from a midfield contender to a podium finisher, Sauber’s continuous development was clearly demonstrated by Nico Hülkenberg’s remarkable podium finish at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone. While the German driver celebrated this prestigious achievement, Ferrari’s team principal, Mattia Binotto, openly expressed his surprise at Sauber’s significant breakthrough.
The steady rise of Sauber, which is set to become Audi’s factory team starting next year, deserves close attention. Since the Spanish Grand Prix, Sauber has emerged as the fourth-best team in terms of points accumulated. This success is largely thanks to Nico Hülkenberg, who outscored notable drivers like Max Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli, and Fernando Alonso over the last four races.
Unveiling the mystery behind Sauber’s performance jump is not overly complicated. At the Barcelona Grand Prix, the team introduced a new floor, a redesigned front wing, and a modified engine cover. Then, at the Austrian Grand Prix, Sauber’s engineers developed the floor edges and diffuser further, and added a new high-downforce rear wing. Finally, at Silverstone, the team brought updates to the front section of the floor and introduced a special flap on the front wing designed to allow for a rear wing with lower downforce.
The result of these aerodynamic enhancements was a highly competitive car capable of challenging Ferrari. At the British Grand Prix, for example, Lewis Hamilton was unable to catch an in-form Nico Hülkenberg, showcasing the car’s improved pace. In fact, Sauber itself had not expected such a strong outcome, as their initial goal was simply to enhance the car’s drivability.
Inaki Rueda, Sauber’s sporting director and a former Ferrari engineer, explained to the media: “We did not expect this. We were anticipating a floor upgrade for Barcelona, but we did not expect these developments to work so well. This new development path has opened the door for further changes.”
However, Sauber’s upgrade momentum may not continue indefinitely. Rueda noted that the Silverstone result might be an isolated success: “I think we have already developed more than we initially thought possible thanks to this new path we discovered,” he said. “I don’t believe we will find many more development avenues.”
The team expects “small improvements” moving forward but does not foresee major gains. All teams, including Sauber, are already focusing on 2026, as confirmed by Rueda himself. He added: “The wind tunnel revealed this improvement, which was surprisingly easy to implement, so we decided to pursue it. However, if we kept following this development path without a clear direction, it would have wasted valuable time.”
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