F1
Sauber Sees Light Despite No Points: Bottas and Zhou Highlight Team’s Progress at Monza
Sauber sees "hopeful indication" despite Valtteri Bottas not scoring points
Sauber chief remains confident about future prospects
Sauber is confident that they have reduced the distance to their closest competitors, even though they have yet to earn any points at the F1 Italian Grand Prix.
Valtteri Bottas secured 16th place at the Monza race, while his teammate Guanyu Zhou came in two positions behind him.
Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant (who has now been replaced in the Williams team) are the only Formula 1 drivers in 2024 who have not scored any points, and Sauber is the only team in the same situation.
The Sauber team had both their drivers qualify at the rear of the grid, leading to Bottas being equipped with hard tires for an extended initial stint. However, the strategy didn't yield significant results for the team.
Nonetheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi maintains that there is a sense of hope.
He stated that despite the final standings appearing similar to earlier races, the team's performance showed some encouraging indications.
"Each driver effectively managed both hard and medium tires, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy and keep tire wear in check."
Certainly, this isn't sufficient to compete for points yet, as our overall speed is lacking. However, the low-drag package introduced at Monza and the adjustments made for qualifying enhanced the car's balance, providing Valtteri and Zhou an opportunity to contend.
"We are not 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 a positive development worth highlighting."
Bottas reflected on the race, stating, "It was a straightforward and calm race for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, as we aimed to try something different and hoped to benefit from a timely Safety Car intervention."
“Sadly, things didn’t go as planned for us, but I believe it was worthwhile to make an attempt.
Reflecting on the way the race played out, I realize I wouldn't change a thing: we managed to move up a few spots through our own efforts, reaching 16th place, but that was truly the best we could achieve.
"Our speed hasn't significantly improved; although our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain that initial momentum and didn't see much advancement. Nevertheless, this weekend was definitely an improvement over our performance at Zandvoort. We have a substantial amount of work to do to make further progress, and that's what we'll be focusing on as we prepare for the upcoming back-to-back races in Baku and Singapore."
Zhou commented: "Our speed today wasn't sufficient to compete for points, particularly in a race that went smoothly without any major disruptions or surprises."
"Although our speed showed a noticeable improvement from last weekend's race in Zandvoort, we are still lagging behind our main rivals in terms of performance."
Over the weekend, there has been progress in our single-lap speed. However, it is evident that we need to fine-tune the car and have a perfect performance throughout the weekend to achieve the optimal outcome.
Instead of depending on luck, our team is determined to keep working diligently to shave off those vital fractions of a second that will move us nearer to the top ten.
Sauber will keep transforming into Audi next year, but they will still operate under their existing identity.
Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for the 2025 season, putting Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in a battle to retain their spots in Formula 1.
Sauber and Red Bull are the only teams left with open driver slots for next season.
Explore Further
Recent Updates
Recent Updates
Site Map
Crash.Net
©1999-2024 Crash Media Group
No part of the text, images, or drawings may be reproduced in any way, whether in whole or in part.
Discover more from Automobilnews News - The first AI News Portal world wide
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.