Nico Hulkenberg says he has no regrets about signing up for Audi's factory team when he did, despite the project going through some major upheaval in the last few days and weeks.
Hulkenberg became Audi's first F1 signing at the end of April, when Andreas Seidl was in charge of preparations for Audi entering the sport in 2026 when new engine regulations come into effect.
But in the run-up to the Belgian GP, Seidl and Audi chief representative Oliver Hoffmann were let go by the German automotive giant, with ex-Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto appointed chief operating and chief technical officer.
This week has seen Binotto hire Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley as team principal for the new squad, making it a very different proposition from the one that Hulkenberg thought he was signing up for originally.
Hulkenberg admitted that he had initially been shocked by the news that Audi had dismissed Seidl and Hoffmann. "The fact that two people that were closely involved in signing me are not there anymore is of course maybe a bit sad."
But after some time for reflection, Hulkenberg is feeling positive about the news. "It shows that the CEO of Audi, and that everyone is looking. They’re aware, they are involved,” he suggested.
“The fact that they take action means that they’re very much involved and invested in it, and hands-on," he continued. "That’s good and positive news, I think."
©Audi/Sauber
He added that he hadn't been aware of any of the changes in advance. "That would be wrong and a conflict of interest," he said. "I'm fully invested in this season still with Haas and fully committed, so I'm not in the loop.”
Now that the dust has settled, Hulkenberg was feeling happy about the direction of how things were going. “My mind and my conscious is calm and clear," he told Sky Sports F1 this week.
He certainly didn't have any regrets about his decision to sign for Audi, pointing out that that there had been few other options on the table for him. "I don’t see an opportunity anywhere in the top four teams for me.
"Obviously Audi is a pretty powerful and big brand in the world," he pointed out “I know how seriously they are taking it, what they are investing and doing to make sure they are competitive, and are a success.
“Every team always promises you blue sky! 'We're doing this, and doing that'," he acknowledged. “With Audi, the ambition and pressure is very high. It always is, when you race for a manufacturer.
©Haas
“But it's a reset with the resources, the manpower, the budget and the power of the brand. It is an exciting project for me and my career," he insisted. “On top of that, the 2026 rule change offers a really good opportunity for a new manufacturer to come in."
The team that will become the Audi factory squad is currently racing as Sauber, but Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu have yet to score a single point in the first 14 races of the season and look doomed to pick up the wooden spoon.
“I’m not worried," Hulkenberg said of this inauspicious potent. "But I know - and they know - that they need to improve the package...I didn’t say it would come for free, or that it's guaranteed. There is a long road, no doubt about it."
After all the changes at the top of the Audi team structure, there's one position that is still wide-open: who will take the second seat in the driver line-up alongside Hulkenberg, with neither Bottas nor Zhou expected to stay.
A new name has gained traction in the last week, that of 19-year-old Brazilian and current McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto. After winning the 2023 Formula 3 title he's now second in this year's F2 championship.
Hulkenberg already knows what it's like to pick up the wooden spoon, having been at Haas in 2023. But the US squad is much improved this year and is seventh in the standings with 27 points, 22 of them thanks to Hulkenberg.
That gives him hope that he can be part of a similar successful rebuilding project when Audi formally opens its doors.
“Last year, there was quite a bit of change at Haas on the technical side. Some people left the team, there was a reshuffling. Then when Ayao [Komatsu] joined the team [as principal], he made tweaks.
“[The potential] was bottled up before but it freed up people in certain departments. It seems they work more efficiently with higher quality," he suggested, with a 'who knew?' shrug.
“We were ready when the top teams - the top cars - were struggling and had issues,” Hulkenberg added. “We were there to pick up the pieces. For us, that’s big."
In the meantime, Hulkenberg still has ten more races for Haas, although that early season strong form seems to be stuttering going into the summer shutdown. "Very difficult,” Hulkenberg said of his Belgian GP last week.
"Just no pace, no harmony, no rhythm," he sighed. "I just didn’t get off on the right foot with the car this weekend and we didn’t manage to find a sweet spot with all the different sessions.
“We need to look into a little bit why, but to some extent I think just forget this weekend, regroup, refresh over the summer break and go again.” And if all else fails, look to the horizon and the green fields of Hinwil and Neuberg.
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