Yahoo Autos Hulkenberg admits Seidl exit ‘a bit of a shock’
Nico Hulkenberg acknowledged that the departure this week of Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann from the current Stake Sauber Formula 1 team — which the German veteran will join next season ahead of its transformation into Audi for 2026 — came as “a bit of a shock.”
Audi announced the managerial changes on Tuesday, which include former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto joining at the start of August, and Seidl — who was CEO of Sauber Motorsport — along with Hoffman — chairman of the board of all Sauber Motorsport companies — both leaving. Hulkenberg admitted Seidl and Hoffman were a key part of his negotiations to join the Audi F1 project from next season when the team has its final year under the Stake name, but says their departures aren’t a cause for concern to him.
“No, not concerned,” Hulkenberg said. “That was obviously a bit of a wave, a bit of a shock. But now, obviously, it’s back to business. I still look forward to joining that project and to making it a successful story with or without the fact that two people that were closely involved in signing me are not there anymore.
“Of course, maybe it’s a bit sad, but I’m more interested about the project: joining Formula 1 with Audi and making it a successful story.”
Hulkenberg said he was personally informed of the changes by Audi CEO Gernot Dollner, who will take over as chairman of the board at Sauber Motorsport moving forward.
“Well, of course, [Seidl and Hoffman] were influential — these were the two guys we did the deal with,” he said. “But I was informed, the day of the announcement, about the group’s decision by Gernot Dollner himself.
“It’s the group’s decision that they want to change moving forward. I think big projects like this, you have in the management people that are big pillars of such projects, but they never just rely on one or two people. And in Formula 1, everyone is kind of changeable.
“In terms of Mattia, I know him, obviously, from the past from the paddock, but I’ve never worked with him. But that will change in a few months.”
Valtteri Bottas said the change will result in a reset again for the Sauber-run team, and admitted it came out of the blue for those already involved at Hinwil.
“Quite sudden news,” Bottas said. “I believe everything happened pretty quickly, but obviously those high-level decisions, we as drivers and many of the team members don’t really know what’s going on behind the scenes. Quite unexpected, but obviously welcoming Mattia to the team and at the same time, I want to thank Mr. Seidl and Mr. Hoffman for their contributions.”
