Sauber Finds ‘Positive Signs’ Amid Struggles as Bottas Remains Point-less Post Monza

Sauber Sees Encouraging Indicators Despite Valtteri Bottas Remaining Without Points

Sauber Team Principal Stresses There Are Grounds for Positivity

Sauber is confident that they have narrowed the distance to their closest competitors, even though they have yet to earn any points at the F1 Italian Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas secured the 16th position at Monza, finishing two spots in front of his teammate Guanyu Zhou.

Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant (who no longer holds a seat with Williams) are the only Formula 1 drivers in 2024 yet to score a point, with Sauber being the sole team without any points.

Sauber's pair of drivers started from the rear of the grid, leading to Bottas being equipped with hard tires to extend his initial run. However, the team's strategy was mostly unsuccessful.

Nevertheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi remains hopeful.

He stated that despite the final standings looking similar to past races, there were encouraging aspects in the team's performance.

"Both drivers successfully managed their hard and medium tyres, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy while keeping degradation in check."

"Naturally, this isn't sufficient for competing for points yet because we are still missing overall speed: however, the low-drag package introduced at Monza and the adjustments made for qualifying enhanced the car's balance, allowing Valtteri and Zhou to contend."

"We aren't yet in a position to compete for points, but it's crucial to recognize that the distance between us and our main rivals has decreased today – this is an encouraging development we should highlight."

Bottas commented on the race, saying, “It was quite a smooth and straightforward race for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, as we aimed to try something different and hoped for a favorable Safety Car timing.

“Regrettably, things didn’t go as planned, but I believe it was worthwhile to attempt it.

Reflecting on the race's events, I realize I wouldn't change a thing: we advanced several places, reaching 16th position based on our performance, but that was truly the best we could achieve.

"Our speed hasn't significantly improved. Although the weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain that momentum and make substantial progress. Nonetheless, this weekend was definitely better than our performance in Zandvoort. We have a lot of work to do before the upcoming back-to-back races in Baku and Singapore, and we'll be focusing on making further advancements."

Zhou commented, "Our speed today wasn't sufficient to compete closer to the points, particularly in a straightforward race without disruptions or major surprises."

"Although our speed showed clear progress compared to last weekend in Zandvoort, we are still lagging behind our main rivals in terms of performance."

"Over the weekend, our single-lap speed has shown some progress. However, it is evident that we must pinpoint the optimal performance settings for the car and deliver a perfect performance throughout the weekend to achieve the best outcome possible."

"Instead of depending on chance, our team is dedicated to staying focused and putting in the effort to shave off those vital fractions of a second that will edge us nearer to breaking into the top ten."

Sauber is set to transition into Audi next year but will retain their existing identity.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for the 2025 season, putting Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in a position where they must compete fiercely to retain their spots in Formula 1.

Sauber and Red Bull are the only teams with open driver positions for the next season.

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