Sauber Sees ‘Positive Signs’ Amid Point-less Struggles as Bottas and Zhou Battle for F1 Futures

Sauber identifies "positive indicators," but Valtteri Bottas has yet to score points

Sauber's team principal maintains that there are grounds for optimism

Sauber thinks they have reduced the distance to their closest competitors even though they haven't earned any points at the F1 Italian Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas secured 16th place at the Monza race, finishing two positions in front of his teammate Guanyu Zhou.

Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant (who no longer has his position with Williams) are the only Formula 1 drivers in 2024 who have not scored any points, and Sauber is the sole team in the same situation.

Sauber's pair started from the rear of the grid with Bottas being equipped with hard tires to extend his initial run, yet the strategy proved mostly ineffective.

Nonetheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi maintains a sense of hope.

He stated that the team's performance showed some encouraging signs, despite the final standings appearing similar to those of earlier races.

"Each driver effectively managed their hard and medium tires, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy and keep tire wear in check."

"Naturally, we still don't have sufficient speed to compete for points: however, the low-drag package we introduced at Monza along with the adjustments made for qualifying enhanced the car's balance, providing Valtteri and Zhou with 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 – this is an encouraging development that we should highlight."

Bottas commented on the race, saying, "Our race was quite smooth and uneventful. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, as we aimed to try something different and hoped the timing of a potential Safety Car would work in our favor."

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

Reflecting on the race, I realize I wouldn't change a thing. We managed to move up a few spots, ultimately finishing in P16 on our own merits. That was genuinely the best we could achieve.

"We didn't see significant improvements in our speed. The weekend began on a positive note, but we struggled to maintain that momentum or make notable gains. Nonetheless, this weekend was definitely an improvement over Zandvoort. We have considerable work to do to make further advancements, and that's what we'll focus on as we prepare for the upcoming back-to-back events in Baku and Singapore."

Zhou commented that their speed today wasn't sufficient to compete nearer to the points, particularly in an uneventful race with no disruptions or major surprises.

"Although our speed showed a clear enhancement from last weekend's event in Zandvoort, we are still lagging behind our main rivals in terms of overall performance."

Over the weekend, there has been some progress in the car's single-lap speed, but it's evident that we need to optimize the car's performance and have a perfect weekend to achieve the best outcome.

"Instead of depending on fortune, our team is dedicated to maintaining our efforts and striving to shave off those vital fractions of a second that will help us break into the top ten."

Next year, Sauber will progress towards becoming Audi, but they will keep their existing form for now.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for 2025, putting Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in a tough position as they fight to stay in Formula 1.

The only two teams with open driver spots for the next season are Sauber and Red Bull.

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