**Sauber Sees Progress Amid Struggles: Bottas Remains Point-less in F1 Italian GP**

Sauber identifies encouraging indications, yet Valtteri Bottas remains without points

Sauber leader maintains there are grounds for a hopeful outlook

Sauber are 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 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 position with Williams) are the only Formula 1 drivers yet to score a point, and Sauber is the only team without any points.

Sauber’s pair of drivers started from the back of the grid, leading to Bottas being equipped with hard tires for an extended initial stint. However, the team's strategy ultimately proved to be ineffective.

Despite the situation, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi remains hopeful.

He stated that, despite the final rankings appearing similar to those of earlier races, there were encouraging aspects in the team's performance.

"Each driver effectively handled the wear on both hard and medium tyres, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy with minimal tyre degradation."

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

"We're not yet in a position to compete for points, but it's important to note that the distance between us and our main rivals has decreased – this is a positive development worth highlighting."

Bottas commented on the race, saying it was straightforward and without incidents. They opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, in an attempt to try a different approach and potentially benefit from the timing of a possible Safety Car.

“Regrettably, that plan didn’t succeed for us, but I believe it was worthwhile to attempt it.”

Reflecting on the progression of the race, I have no regrets about my decisions: we moved up several spots based on performance, reaching 16th place, which was realistically the best we could achieve.

"We haven't seen significant improvements in our speed. Although our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain that momentum or make substantial gains. However, it was definitely an improvement over our performance in Zandvoort. We have plenty of work to do to take the next step forward, and that's what we'll be focusing on as we prepare for the upcoming back-to-back races in Baku and Singapore."

Zhou stated, "Today's speed wasn't sufficient for us to contend for points, particularly in a race that went smoothly without any major disruptions or surprises."

"Our speed has definitely improved since last weekend in Zandvoort, but we are still lagging behind our main rivals in terms of performance."

Over the weekend, there has been noticeable progress in the car's speed for individual laps. However, it is evident that we must identify the car’s optimal performance zone and deliver an impeccable performance throughout the weekend to achieve the best outcome.

"Instead of depending on fortune, our team is dedicated to diligently working to shave off those critical fractions of a second that will move us nearer to the top ten."

Sauber is set to transform into Audi next year, although they will keep their existing identity for now.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a place with Haas for the 2025 season, which puts Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou in a position where they must compete to keep their spots in Formula 1.

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

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