Some revivals arrive with confetti. Sauber’s came with a six-race drumbeat of points.
After 14 rounds, the Hinwil outfit sits seventh in the Constructors’ standings on 51 points — already more than 12 times last year’s haul — and has rediscovered its edge under new boss Jonathan Wheatley. “We’ve, at times, over-performed on where we thought we would be,” Wheatley said, admitting even the team’s internal targets have been nudged upward. “It’s very encouraging, and it’s encouraging to build this momentum up.”
Momentum, in Sauber’s case, looks like Nico Hülkenberg’s drought-busting podium at Silverstone and a steady climb that’s put the German ninth in the Drivers’ table. It also looks like Gabriel Bortoleto settling into F1 with growing authority — the rookie’s first points arrived in Austria, an eighth place that didn’t flatter the car.
That was the weekend Sauber rolled out a fresh floor and rear wing, both aimed at boosting load per FIA submissions. It followed a Spain package — an earlier iteration of the floor plus a revised engine cover and front wing — that jolted the team awake. Hülkenberg’s fifth in Barcelona lit the fuse, and since then the C44 has been a dependable scorer on everything from high-speed sweeps to stop‑start street corners.
“The upgrades have brought a broad spectrum of performance,” Wheatley explained. “It does seem like we’re able to follow a little bit closer than maybe some other teams, but also the drivers just seem very comfortable with it on different tyre compounds and across different circuits.”
The turnaround is starker when you remember where this began. “If you look back to Bahrain testing, we were in major trouble and things were looking very grim,” Hülkenberg said. “It started off pretty difficult and then, since Barcelona, we’ve been in the points six times as a team. We had a couple of big highlights. Gabby in Hungary as well, stellar drive, fighting with the Astons. Six times points on six very different tracks — that’s testament to the good updates and the work the team has put in.”
From last at Monaco to the most prolific squad outside the top four over the last six races with 45 points, Sauber’s upswing has been as methodical as it’s been timely. Wheatley, who arrived in April after 18 years at Red Bull, has added clear direction as the operation readies for its next identity.
This is the team’s final season before it morphs into Audi’s factory entry, with Hülkenberg and Bortoleto contracted to stay on. The German marque has taken full ownership of the project and is set to bring its own power unit into the fold, ending Sauber’s long Ferrari supply run. The results may feel early, but in Hinwil, the future is already peeking through.
