Sauber Sees Positive Signs Despite Point-less Monza Finish for Bottas and Zhou

Clean team notices "good indication" yet Valtteri Bottas remains without points

Clean team's leader maintains there is cause for hope

Sauber is confident they have narrowed the distance to their closest competitors, even though they did not earn 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 is no longer with Williams) are the only Formula 1 drivers in 2024 who haven't scored any points, with Sauber being the only team in the same situation.

Sauber's pair of drivers secured positions at the rear of the grid, leading to Bottas being equipped with hard tires and tasked with running the longest initial stint. Nevertheless, the team's strategy proved mostly ineffective.

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

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

"Each driver effectively managed both the hard and medium tires, enabling us to adhere to our pre-race strategy as tire wear remained manageable."

"While these enhancements aren't sufficient to compete for points due to our general speed deficit, the low-drag package introduced at Monza along with the adjustments made for qualifying have improved the car's balance, providing Valtteri and Zhou with an opportunity to contend."

"We have a significant distance to cover before we can compete for points, but it's crucial to recognize that we've made progress in closing the gap with our main rivals. This is a positive development worth highlighting."

Bottas commented on the race, saying, "Overall, it was a straightforward and calm race for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, as we wanted to take a different approach and hoped to benefit from the timing of a possible Safety Car."

"Regrettably, things didn't go as planned for us, but I believe it was worthwhile to make the attempt."

Reflecting on the way the race progressed, I have no regrets and wouldn't change a thing: we managed to move up a few spots, reaching 16th place based on our performance, but that was the best we could achieve.

"While we didn't see significant gains in speed, our weekend began on a positive note. However, we struggled to maintain that momentum and didn't see much improvement overall. Despite this, it was certainly a better performance than we had in Zandvoort. We have a lot of work to do to make further progress, and we'll be focusing on that as we prepare for the upcoming back-to-back races in Baku and Singapore."

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

"Although our speed was noticeably better than it was last weekend in Zandvoort, we are still lagging behind our main rivals in terms of overall performance."

"Over the weekend, we've noticed a better performance in our single-lap speeds, but it's evident that we need to perfect the car's settings and have an error-free weekend to achieve the optimal outcome."

“Instead of depending on fortune, our team is dedicated to diligently working to shave off those vital fractions of a second that will edge us nearer to the top ten.”

Sauber is set to transition into Audi next year but will keep their existing form for now.

Haas has secured Nico Hulkenberg for the 2025 season, putting pressure on Bottas and Zhou as they fight to stay in Formula 1.

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

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