Motor racing-Driver choice looks the easy part for new Sauber boss Binotto
By Alan Baldwin
MEXICO CITY, Oct 22 (Reuters) -Sauber hope to have next season's driver line-up sorted by mid-November but that looks like one of the easier challenges facing new boss Mattia Binotto at what will become the Audi works Formula One team from 2026.
The Swiss-based outfit are last with five rounds to go and have not scored a point for more than a year, a novel situation for the former Ferrari principal who arrived at the start of August.
Audi are investing heavily in the project and Binotto has a mission to turn things around.
The task is huge, with some insiders reporting upheaval within the team amid personnel changes and a loss of morale pre-dating Binotto's arrival, but the Swiss-born Italian is confident he can deliver.
He will be drawing heavily on his experience at Ferrari, and in particular the influence and inspiration of those he worked with during a golden era for the sport's oldest and most successful team.
"When I started in Ferrari it was 1995," Binotto told Reuters at last weekend's U.S. Grand Prix.
"At the time, compared to expectations, we were far behind. It was many years that Ferrari was not winning. The foundations were not there, the culture was not there, the mindset was not anymore there.
"So I think in that respect there are a lot of similarities."
Binotto joined Ferrari when the Italian team was reorganising under the leadership of Jean Todt, with Michael Schumacher arriving in 1996 and Ross Brawn following as technical director in 1997.
Ferrari had not won a drivers championship since 1979 and failed to win a race in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
In 1994 and 1995 they won once in each year but 1999 began a run of six constructors' titles in a row. Binotto said they were "the best of days", with Schumacher a leader in and out of the car.
"You may say that the journey here can be even more difficult, I don't know," said Binotto, who will have Jonathan Wheatley making the move from Red Bull next year as team principal.
"To become a winning team in Formula One that's the aim, that's the objective.
"We know as well it will take many seasons and to look back at the other teams, how long it took them to create solid foundations and win, normally it's from five to seven years.
"So let's say that our aim is by 2030 being capable of, or aiming, to fight for a championship... there is a clear objective for the end of the decade."
Sauber's most successful season since their debut in 1993 was 2007, when they were owned by BMW and finished second to Ferrari.
German driver Nico Hulkenberg is signed for next season and 2026 but his team mate has yet to be decided, with top target Carlos Sainz opting for Williams rather than their Ferrari-powered rivals.
Incumbent Valtteri Bottas would represent experience but there is also a cast of promising youngsters that includes Mick Schumacher, Franco Colapinto and F2 leader Gabriel Bortoleto.
Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, currently racing for the team, has experience and youth but is seen as an outside prospect.
"We know we've got a journey ahead of us, it's going to be a long journey," said Binotto. "I think we need somehow to choose a line-up that is the best one in order to support and help the team to become better.
"Both options have got merits...having two experienced drivers certainly is the best way to help a team to develop. On the other side, having a rookie can be a way of giving new energy and fresh air to a team.
"We will need to come to a decision I would say before mid-November," he added.
"I think it's because of fairness towards individuals, as well as us as a team to start switching to look at the future and building and developing the future."
Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis
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