Audi-owned Sauber is tipped to officially confirm authoritative reports suggesting Nico Hulkenberg has agreed a three-year deal starting in 2025.
The Swiss Formula 1 team, which is now 100 percent owned by German giant Volkswagen’s Audi subsidiary, is said to be willing to wait a little longer for Carlos Sainz to consider a similar offer to race until 2027 at least.
On Thursday, veteran F1 journalist Roger Benoit wrote in the Swiss newspaper Blick: "There will be transfer news on Friday.
"Audi-Sauber will announce the arrival of Nico Hulkenberg for the next few years."
36-year-old German Hulkenberg was asked about the dynamic early driver ’silly season’ in China recently, and commented: "For some it might move quite quickly, for some maybe not."
Meanwhile, the decision-making F1 Commission met in Geneva and via video conference on Thursday to debate the potential expansion of the points-paying positions all the way to P12 for 2025 and beyond.
"It was agreed that further analysis of proposed changes was required with a view to a proposal to be presented to the F1 Commission meeting in July," a joint statement issued by Formula 1 and the governing FIA revealed.