Shwartzman’s 2025 F1 Hopes Rise Amid Audi-Sauber Uncertainty
Aug.31 - Robert Shwartzman is not sure if he is a genuine contender to complete the 2025 Formula 1 race grid.
While it is believed Valtteri Bottas is the frontrunner to keep his Audi-owned Sauber seat, he is pushing for a '1-plus-1' contract rather than a simple one-year contract.
19-year-old rookie Gabriel Bortoletto, the reigning Formula 3 champion, is reportedly also in contention, but so too might be Ferrari tester Shwartzman, who drove the 2024 Sauber in Friday practice at Zandvoort last week.
The Israel-born Russian's chances may have received a boost when his former Ferrari boss, Mattia Binotto, was recently signed as the new Sauber chief.
"I have a lot of respect for Mattia," Shwartzman, 24, told France's Auto Hebdo at the world endurance championship race in Austin this weekend.
"I worked with him for four or five years. He and Laurent (Mekies) supported me, pushed me and they really took care of me."
Until now, Shwartzman has not been seriously linked with a F1 race seat for 2025, but Sauber owner Audi has found it difficult to attract a top driver to become Nico Hulkenberg's teammate next year.
As a result, there are rumours the German brand has decided to offer only a one-year deal with a modest salary to whoever is ultimately named for the seat.
When asked if more Friday outings or a deeper involvement with Audi-owned Sauber may be possible going forward, Shwartzman answered: "I have no idea. We haven't even discussed it.
"Mattia has only just started his job. I don't know how it works there either - who is in charge of what. I just got an invitation from them, which I really appreciate, to do free practice (at Zandvoort).
"I met a lot of new people, very nice people, I really enjoyed working, driving and being there. So from my side, if in the future Mattia or whoever is in charge wants to do something with me, I will be very happy."
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The one-off practice drive has nothing to do with next season's driver matters & most likely was planned long before Binotto's appointment.
Besides, he would've already received a full-time drive at some point before Russia's invasion if he were ever going to receive one, given Binotto's past Ferrari employment, i.e., he would've either driven at Sauber instead of Gio or Haas in 2021 instead of Mick, not to mention the Russian nationality despite Israeli license is valid.
I also fail to see Bortoleto having a realistic chance.
Realistically, either Bottas stays put with a 1+1 deal or Zhou alternatively with a straight single-year deal after which he'd get sacked for a more favorable driver after next season.