New Audi chief Mattia Binotto has admitted the task of turning the current Sauber team into Formula One winners will be like “climbing Everest”.
Sauber, the team which has been bought by Audi and will transform into the German manufacturer’s works outfit in 2026, are enduring a torrid season.
The Swiss team are rooted to the bottom of the constructors' championship, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu failing to score a point in 2024 so far.
In fact, their best finish came at the Bahrain Grand Prix in the opening race of the season, with Guanyu finishing in 11th place.
Former Ferrari team principal Binotto, who was installed as chief operating officer and chief technical officer in August, has been tasked with spearheading Audi’s F1 project, though he acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead.
"It’s not only climbing a big mountain, it’s climbing Everest. It will take several years," Binotto told BBC Sport.
"Our objective is by the end of the decade to be able to fight for the championships."
Binotto added: "When you are here and you start looking into the details, the more you look, the more you realise where you are and what are the main differences to what I knew from before from Ferrari.
"Certainly the gap and the differences are many and the gap is big.
"It’s big because of dimensions, because of the number of people, because of mindset, because of tools, facilities.
"Whatever you look around, it is really comparing a small team to a top team."
Sauber are yet to decide who will complete their driver line-up for the 2025 season alongside new signing Nico Hulkenberg.
Bottas is a leading contender to join the German on the grid in 2026, though Williams stand-in Franco Colapinto has impressed since replacing Logan Sargeant.
Binotto has also confirmed that Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher, who lost his full-time F1 seat with Haas at the end of 2022, is also in the frame.
'I really wanted this one' – Sainz revels in 'needed' Mexican Grand Prix win
Carlos Sainz celebrated a victory he "needed" after he claimed top spot at the Mexican Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver, who will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton next season, won from pole on Sunday, edging out Lando Norris and his team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Max Verstappen was handed a 20-second penalty, and finished sixth, meaning Ferrari leapfrogged Red Bull in the Formula One constructor standings.
It marked Sainz's seventh podium finish of the season, and his second victory - one that the Spaniard was set on clinching after his excellent qualifying session.
"It's incredible to see this crowd, I've been feeling their support all week and I feel like I’ve got a lot of fan support here in Mexico and they've given me a lot of strength," he said.
"Honestly, I really wanted this one, I needed it for myself, I wanted to get it done.
"I've been saying for a while I wanted one more win before leaving Ferrari and to do it here in front of this mega crowd is incredible.
"Now, four races left I want to enjoy as much as possible and if another one comes I will go for it."
Sainz relinquished the lead to Verstappen on the first lap, before the race was put under the safety car after a collision between Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda.
After the restart, Sainz swiftly passed Verstappen into Turn One, racing clear as the Dutchman and his title rival Norris battled behind him.
"I didn't prepare to be honest," Sainz said of overtaking Verstappen.
"I was just a bit annoyed at the start having lost position to him and I said I need to surprise him one way or another, as he's super difficult to pass, he's proven it many times.
"I was a bit far back but I had nothing to lose. I'm just going to send one down the inside.
"I've been confident in the braking to Turn One this weekend and I knew I could make it."
Sainz claims dominant Mexico win as Norris and Verstappen clash again
Carlos Sainz led Ferrari to a second victory in as many weeks as Lando Norris and Max Verstappen clashed once again at an enthralling Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday.
Sainz secured his second victory of the season, despite having lost the lead to Verstappen on the first lap, to become the first Ferrari driver to win in Mexico since 1990.
But a week on from their tussle in Austin, Verstappen and Norris were again involved in an incident, resulting in the Dutchman recieving two 10-second penalties.
Verstappen was given a penalty for forcing Norris off the track in an incident at Turn Four on lap 10 and another for leaving the track and gaining an advantage four corners later.
Norris took second place, catching and passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for second with nine laps to go, subsequently gaining points to Verstappen in the drivers' championship battle.
Behind the top three, Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were locked in combat throughout, but it was the seven-time world champion who claimed fourth place.
Verstappen's penalty saw him end the race in sixth, while Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg finished inside the top 10.
Norris' team-mate Oscar Piastri was sandwiched in between the Haas duo in eighth, while Pierre Gasly picked up a rare point in what has been a disappointing season for the Frenchman.
Data Debrief: Smooth Operator
Sainz's triumph saw him claim a fourth win in Formula 1, and his second of 2024 after winning in Australia earlier this year - the first time he has two wins in a season.
The Spaniard has achieved all four of his victories as a Ferrari driver, equalling John Surtees, Eddie Irvine and Clay Regazzoni for the Italian team.
He also became the third Scuderia driver to win in Mexico after Jacky Ickx in 1970 and Alain Prost in 1990.
Top 10
1. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
5. George Russell (Mercedes)
6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
7. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers'
1. Max Verstappen - 362
2. Lando Norris - 315
3. Charles Leclerc - 291
Constructors'
1. McLaren - 566
2. Ferrari - 537
3. Red Bull - 512
Hamilton 'used to' losing out to Russell amid qualifying struggles
Lewis Hamilton admits he has become accustomed to trailing Mercedes team-mate George Russell after struggling in qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Hamilton qualified in sixth for Sunday's race, one place behind Russell despite the latter reverting to an older floor for his W15 car following a crash in Friday's practice.
The seven-time drivers' champion trailed his team-mate by almost three tenths of a second and has now only beaten him in qualifying five times in 20 races this year.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 following the conclusion of qualifying, which saw Carlos Sainz snatch pole position ahead of title contenders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, Hamilton admitted he had struggled all year.
"I'm losing all the time, that's why I've been so bad in qualifying all year," Hamilton, who sits sixth in the drivers' championship standings, said.
"It's a normal thing and I'm used to it. We have done everything. We worked so hard in the background, like everyone does, to get the car in a nice place.
"It was feeling good in final practice, so we were like, 'let's not touch anything or do anything'. All we changed was the rear wing and it's just a drastic difference.
"Every time I get to qualifying, the car is completely different. I can't pinpoint why, but it is what it is."
Mercedes had switched to an older iteration of their car floor after both drivers struggled at last week's United States Grand Prix, with Russell now on an even older edition following his crash in second practice.
"Maybe George is more comfortable on the older package," Hamilton said. "I don't know, we'll see. We'll get a good reading of which is best."
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