Next milestone in the F1 project: Nico Hülkenberg becomes a driver for the Audi factory team
Hülkenberg to compete for Audi in Formula 1 from 2026 Andreas Seidl: “Nico’s determination and desire will help us move forward”
The course for Audi’s Formula 1 project continues to be set. Following the announcement of the complete takeover of the Sauber Group to accelerate preparations for the brand’s entry into F1, the first driver has now been confirmed: Nico Hülkenberg has signed a multi-year contract with Sauber and will start for the Audi factory team in 2026. He will be driving for Sauber as early as 2025 and accompany the transformation to the factory team, as the Swiss company announced today.
With his experience of more than 200 F1 races, the German will make an important contribution to the development phase of Audi’s future team: “The signing of Nico is the next milestone for Audi’s Formula 1 project. With his speed, his experience and his dedicated teamwork, he will make an important contribution to Audi’s entry in 2026 as early as next year,” says Andreas Seidl, CEO of the future Audi F1 factory team. “Right from the start, there was great mutual interest in tackling a project of this uniqueness together. Nico is a strong personality, his determination and desire on a professional and personal level will help us to make progress both in the development of the car and in building up the team.” Nico Hülkenberg says: “The prospect of competing for Audi is something very special. When a German manufacturer enters Formula 1 with such determination, it’s a unique opportunity. To represent the factory team of such a car brand with a power unit made in Germany is a great honor for me.” The appointment of Nico Hülkenberg follows the plan announced in March to take over Sauber completely and the appointment of Oliver Hoffmann as General Representative of the Board of Management of Audi for the Formula 1 commitment.
Media Z-Card WEC Nürburgring 2015
2000 3rd Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro Audi R8 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) 2004 1st Pierre Kaff er/Allan McNish Audi R8 Le Mans Endurance Series (LMES) 2nd Jamie Davies/Johnny Herbert Audi R8 2005 2nd Allan McNish/Stéphane Ortelli Audi R8 Le Mans Endurance Series (LMES) 2008 3rd Alexandre Prémat/Mike Rockenfeller Audi R10 TDI Le Mans Series (LMS) Date/place of birth: May 27, 1976/Einsiedeln (CH) Place of residence: Gross (CH) Career highlights: 2011 1st 24h Le Mans, 2012 1st 24h Le Mans, 1st WEC, 2013 2nd WEC, 2014 1st 24h Le Mans, 2nd WEC, 2015 1st 6h Silverstone, 1st 6h Spa, 3rd 24h Le Mans w www.marcel-faessler.ch facebook.com/pages/Marcel- Fässler/433092060095169 instagram.com/marcel_fassler Date/place of birth: Aug 11, 1984/São Paulo (BR) Place of residence: Monaco (MC) Career highlights: 2005 1st Formula 3 Grand Prix Macau, 2010 F1 driver, 2012 3rd 6h São Paulo, 2013 3rd 24h Le Mans, 2014 2nd 24h Le Mans, 4th WEC, 2015 WEC w www.lucasdigrassi.com.br facebook.com/lucasdigrassioffi cial twitter.com/lucasdigrassi instagram.com/lucasdigrassi Drivers’ Championship 1 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer 80 2 Tandy 60 3 Bamber/Hülkenberg 58 4 Dumas/Jani/Lieb 57 5 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber 53 6 di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis 40 7 Conway/Sarrazin/Wurz 38 8 Buemi/Davidson 27 9 Albuquerque/Bonanomi/Rast 24 10 Nakajima 23 Manufacturers’ Championship 1 Porsche 140 2 Audi 124 3 Toyota 71 4 Nissan 0 Date/place of birth: Nov 19, 1981/Duisburg (D) Place of residence: Tokyo (J) Career highlights: 2011 1st 24h Le Mans, 2012 1st 24h Le Mans, 1st WEC, 2013 2nd WEC, 2014 1st 24h Le Mans, 2nd WEC, 2015 1st 6h Silverstone, 1st 6h Spa, 3rd 24h Le Mans facebook.com/alotterer twitter.com/andre_lotterer instagram.com/andre_lotterer Date/place of birth: June 12, 1982/Chartres (F) Place of residence: Geneva (CH) Career highlights: 2009 1st Formula Nippon, 2010 1st Japanese Super GT, 2011 1st 12h Sebring, 2012 1st 6h Spa, 2013 1st 24h Le Mans, 1st WEC, 2015 WEC w www.loicduval.com facebook.com/Loic.Duval.Offi cial
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Media Z-Card WEC Shanghai 2015
Track record in qualifying: Lapierre/Wurz (Toyota), 1m 48.013s in 2013 Track record in the race: Sébastien Buemi (Toyota), 1m 48.694s in 2014 Winners 2014: Buemi/Davidson (Toyota) Media contact Audi Communications Motorsport Eva-Maria Veith +49 173 939 35 22 eva-maria.veith@audi.de www.audi-mediacenter.com Social media Facebook facebook.com/AudiSport Twitter twitter.com/Audi__Sport Instagram instagram.com/audi__sport AUDI AG Communications Motorsport D-85045 Ingolstadt Phone +49 841 8934200 E-mail motorsport-media@audi.de Audi Sport LMP partners Other partners WEC Shanghai 2012 2nd Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish Audi R18 e-tron quattro WEC 3rd Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer Audi R18 e-tron quattro 2013 1st Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer Audi R18 e-tron quattro WEC 3rd Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish Audi R18 e-tron quattro Date/place of birth: May 27, 1976/Einsiedeln (CH) Place of residence: Gross (CH) Career highlights: 2011 1st 24h Le Mans, 2012 1st 24h Le Mans, 1st WEC, 2013 2nd WEC, 2014 1st 24h Le Mans, 2nd WEC, 2015 1st 6h Silverstone, 1st 6h Spa, 3rd 24h Le Mans w www.marcel-faessler.ch facebook.com/pages/Marcel- Fässler/433092060095169 instagram.com/marcel_fassler Date/place of birth: Aug 11, 1984/São Paulo (BR) Place of residence: Monaco (MC) Career highlights: 2005 1st Formula 3 Grand Prix Macau, 2010 F1 driver, 2012 3rd 6h São Paulo, 2013 3rd 24h Le Mans, 2014 2nd 24h Le Mans, 4th WEC, 2015 WEC w www.lucasdigrassi.com.br facebook.com/lucasdigrassioffi cial twitter.com/lucasdigrassi instagram.com/lucasdigrassi Drivers’ Championship 1 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber 129 2 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer 128 3 Dumas/Jani/Lieb 95.5 4 di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis 79 5 Tandy 66 6 Buemi/Davidson 59 7 Bamber/Hülkenberg 58 8 Nakajima 55 9 Conway/Sarrazin/Wurz 54 10 Bird/Canal/Rusinov 26.5 Manufacturers’ Championship 1 Porsche 264 2 Audi 211 3 Toyota 119 4 Nissan 0 Date/place of birth: Nov 19, 1981/Duisburg (D) Place of residence: Tokyo (J) Career highlights
Media Z-Card WEC Bahrain 2015
Track record in qualifying: Wurz/Nakajima (Toyota), 1m 42.449s in 2013 Track record in the race: André Lotterer (Audi), 1m 44.183s in 2013 Winners 2014: Conway/Sarrazin/Wurz (Toyota) AUDI AG Communications Motorsport D-85045 Ingolstadt Phone +49 841 8934200 E-mail motorsport-media@audi.de Audi Sport LMP partners Other partners WEC Bahrain Media contact Audi Communications Motorsport Eva-Maria Veith +49 173 939 35 22 eva-maria.veith@audi.de www.audi-mediacenter.com Social media Google+ google.com/+Audimotorsport-offi cial Facebook facebook.com/AudiSport Twitter twitter.com/Audi__Sport Instagram instagram.com/audi__sport 2012 1st Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer Audi R18 e-tron quattro WEC 2nd Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish Audi R18 e-tron quattro 2013 2nd Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer Audi R18 e-tron quattro WEC Date/place of birth: May 27, 1976/Einsiedeln (CH) Place of residence: Gross (CH) Career highlights: 2011 1st 24h Le Mans, 2012 1st 24h Le Mans, 1st WEC, 2013 2nd WEC, 2014 1st 24h Le Mans, 2nd WEC, 2015 1st 6h Silverstone, 1st 6h Spa, 3rd 24h Le Mans w www.marcel-faessler.ch facebook.com/pages/Marcel- Fässler/433092060095169 instagram.com/marcel_fassler Date/place of birth: Aug 11, 1984/São Paulo (BR) Place of residence: Monaco (MC) Career highlights: 2005 1st Formula 3 Grand Prix Macau, 2010 F1 driver, 2012 3rd 6h São Paulo, 2013 3rd 24h Le Mans, 2014 2nd 24h Le Mans, 4th WEC, 2015 WEC w www.lucasdigrassi.com.br facebook.com/lucasdigrassioffi cial twitter.com/lucasdigrassi instagram.com/lucasdigrassi Drivers’ Championship 1 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber 155 2 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer 143 3 Dumas/Jani/Lieb 113.5 4 di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis 91 5 Buemi/Davidson 67 6 Tandy 66.5 7 Conway/Sarrazin/Wurz 64 8 Nakajima 63 9 Bamber/Hülkenberg 58 10 Bird/Canal/Rusinov 27.5 Manufacturers’ Championship 1 Porsche 308 2 Audi 238 3 Toyota 137 4 Nissan 0 Date/place of birth: Nov 19, 1981/Duisburg (D) Place of residence: Tokyo (J) Career highlights: 2011 1st
Audi Sport FactBook 2016
4,606.571 59 58 5,0004,0003,0002,0001,000Distance (km) 1975 Mirage-Ford Ickx/Bell 4,595.577 1976 Porsche Ickx/Van Lennep 4,769.923 1977 Porsche Barth/Haywood/Ickx 4,671.630 1978 Renault Pironi/Jaussaud 5,044.530 1979 Porsche Ludwig/Whittington/Whittington 4,173.930 1980 Rondeau-Ford Rondeau/Jaussaud 4,608.020 1981 Porsche Ickx/Bell 4,825.348 1982 Porsche Ickx/Bell 4,899.086 1983 Porsche Holbert/Haywood/Schuppan 5,047.934 1984 Porsche Pescarolo/Ludwig 4,900.276 1985 Porsche Ludwig/Barilla/„John Winter“ 5,088.507 1986 Porsche Stuck/Bell/Holbert 4,972.731 1987 Porsche Stuck/Bell/Holbert 4,791.777 1988 Jaguar Lammers/Dumfries/Wallace 5,332.790 1989 Sauber-Mercedes Mass/Dickens/Reuter 5,262.115 1990 Jaguar Brundle/Nielsen/Cobb 4,882.400 1991 Mazda Weidler/Herbert/Gachot 4,922.810 1992 Peugeot Warwick/Dalmas/Blundell 4,787.200 1993 Peugeot Brabham/Bouchut/Hélary 5,100.000 1994 Porsche Dalmas/Haywood/Baldi 4,685.701 1995 McLaren Dalmas/Lehto/Sekiya 4,055.800 60WEC 5,0004,0003,0002,0001,000Distance (km) Record 1996 Porsche Reuter/Jones/Wurz 4,814.400 1997 Porsche Alboreto/Johansson/Kristensen 4,909.600 1998 Porsche Aiello/Ortelli/McNish 4,783.781 1999 BMW Winkelhock/Martini/Dalmas 4,982.974 2000 Audi R8 Biela/Kristensen/Pirro 5,007.998 2001 Audi R8 Biela/Kristensen/Pirro 4,367.200 2002 Audi R8 Biela/Kristensen/Pirro 5,118.750 2003 Bentley Capello/Kristensen/Smith 5,145.571 2004 Audi R8 Ara/Capello/Kristensen 5,169.970 2005 Audi R8 Kristensen/Lehto/Werner 5,050.500 2006 Audi R10 TDI Biela/Pirro/Werner 5,187.000 2007 Audi R10 TDI Biela/Pirro/Werner 5,029.101 2008 Audi R10 TDI Capello/Kristensen/McNish 5,192.649 2009 Peugeot Brabham/Gené/Wurz 5,206.278 2010 Audi R15 TDI Bernhard/Dumas/Rockenfeller 5,410.713 (225.228 km/h) 2011 Audi R18 TDI Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer 4,838.295 2012 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer 5,151.762 2013 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Duval/Kristensen/McNish 4,742.892 2014 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer 5,165.391 2015 Porsche Bamber/Hülkenberg
Audi in motorsport – 2015 endurance classics results
Le Mans 24 Hours 1 Hülkenberg/Bamber/Tandy (Porsche) 395 laps 2 Bernhard/Webber/Hartley (Porsche) -1 lap 3 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) -2 laps 4 di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) -3 laps 5 Dumas/Jani/Lieb (Porsche) -4 laps 6 Wurz/Sarrazin/Conway (Toyota) -8 laps Nürburgring 24 Hours 1 Mies/Müller/Sandström/Vanthoor (Audi R8 LMS) 156 laps 2 Luhr/Martin/Palttala/Westbrook (BMW) +40.729s 3 Dumbreck/Henzler/Imperatori/Ragginger (Porsche) -1 lap 4 Adorf/Catsburg/Farfus/Müller (BMW) -1 lap 5 Buurman/Al Faisal/Haupt/van Lagen (Mercedes) -1 lap 6 Cerruti/Edwards/Keilwitz/Laser (BMW) -3 laps Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours 1 Catsburg/Luhr/Palttala (BMW), 536 laps 2 Ortelli/Müller/Stippler (Audi R8 LMS) -1 lap 3 Mamerow/Mies/Thiim (Audi R8 LMS) -2 laps 4 Bruni/Lathouras/Lemeret/Pier Guidi (Ferrari) -5 laps 5 Fässler/Lotterer/Rockenfeller (Audi R8 LMS) -6 laps 6 Cameron/Griffin/Guedes/Rigon (Ferrari) -7 laps
24h Le Mans Hour 1: Good start for Audi
Loïc Duval, André Lotterer and Marco Bonanomi overtook in quick succession the Porsche #19 with Nico Hülkenberg at the wheel that had started third on the grid. After one hour the three R18 lie third, fourth and fifth immediately behind the two leading Porsches as the safety car was deployed and the race neutralized because of a burning GTE car. The three Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars had completed their first refueling stops beforehand on lap nine (R18 #9), ten (R18 #8) and eleven (R18 #7) – each offset by one lap. As a result, Audi Sport Team Joest split the three cars through the pit stops. Positions after 1 hour: 1 Porsche #17 2 Porsche #18 3 Audi #8 4 Audi #7 5 Audi #9 6 Porsche #19
24h Le Mans Hour 17: Audi #9 continues in second place
The gap between Rast and the leading Porsche #19 of Nico Hülkenberg remained constant at a little over two minutes. A refueling stop during a safety car phase meant the deficit grew to one lap. Audi R18 e-tron quattro #7 was two laps down in fourth place at 8 o’clock. Marcel Fässler resumed the race in fifth place at 7:02 after a 6 minute 56 second long repair to the rear end, before making up a position when Oliver Jarvis stopped to refuel in the R18 #8. Positions after 17 hours: 1 Porsche #19 2 Audi #9 3 Porsche #17 4 Audi #7 5 Audi #8 6 Porsche #18