Sauber Sees ‘Positive Signs’ Despite Point-less Monza Finish for Bottas

Sauber identifies "positive indicator" despite Valtteri Bottas' lack of points

Sauber team leader maintains there is cause for hope

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

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

In 2024, Bottas, Zhou, and Logan Sargeant, who no longer has his seat with Williams, are the only Formula 1 drivers yet to score a point. Additionally, Sauber is the sole team without any points.

The Sauber team saw both of their drivers qualify at the rear of the grid, so they decided to equip Bottas with hard tires and have him run an extended first stint. However, this strategy did not yield significant results.

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

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

"Each driver successfully handled both the hard and medium tires, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy and keep tire wear in check."

"Certainly, we still don't have the speed necessary to compete for points. However, the low-drag package we introduced at Monza, along with the adjustments we made for qualifying, enhanced the car's balance and provided Valtteri and Zhou with an opportunity to compete."

"We are not yet in a position to compete for points, but it's important to note that we've made progress by reducing the gap with our main rivals – this is an encouraging development."

Bottas commented on the race, saying, "It was a smooth and straightforward race for us; we opted for a one-stop strategy and began with the hard tires, aiming to do something different and hoping the timing of a possible Safety Car would work in our favor."

"Regrettably, that approach didn't yield the desired results for us, but I believe it was beneficial to attempt it."

Reflecting on the race's progression, I have no regrets about my decisions. We managed to move up a few spots, reaching 16th place through our own efforts, but that was truly the best outcome we could achieve.

"Our speed hasn't significantly improved. Although our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain that momentum and didn't see much progress. Nonetheless, it was definitely an improvement over our performance at Zandvoort. We have a considerable amount of work to do to advance further, and we'll be focusing on that in preparation for the upcoming consecutive races in Baku and Singapore."

Zhou mentioned that their speed today wasn't sufficient to compete for points, particularly in a race that went smoothly without any disruptions or major 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 overall performance."

Over the weekend, there's been a noticeable enhancement in our single-lap speed. However, it's evident that we must identify the car's optimal performance level and carry out a perfect weekend to achieve the best outcome.

Instead of depending on luck, our team concentrates on staying focused and diligently working to shave off those vital fractions of a second that will move us nearer to the top ten.

Sauber will keep progressing towards becoming Audi next year, although they will retain their present identity.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for the 2025 season, putting pressure on Bottas and Zhou to fight for their spots in Formula 1 and avoid being cut from the sport entirely.

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

Discover More

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Website Map

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

Reproducing the content, whether in full or in part, including text, images, or artwork, is strictly prohibited in any manner