Sauber Sees Progress Despite Point-less Finish at Monza: Bottas and Zhou Struggle Amid Optimism

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

Sauber chief remains hopeful

Sauber is confident that they have narrowed the distance to their closest competitors, even though they haven't earned 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.

Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant (who no longer holds a position with Williams) are the only Formula 1 drivers in 2024 yet to score any points. Additionally, Sauber is the only team without points.

Sauber's pair of drivers managed to secure positions at the rear of the grid, prompting the team to equip Bottas with hard tires and extend his initial stint as long as possible. However, these strategies did not yield significant results for the team.

Nevertheless, according to team spokesman Alessandro Alunni Bravi, there is a sense of hope.

"There were some encouraging aspects in the team's performance, despite the final standings appearing similar to earlier races," he stated.

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

"While it’s clear that we still don’t have the speed necessary to compete for points, the low-drag package we introduced at Monza and the adjustments made for qualifying have 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 crucial to recognize that we've made progress today by narrowing the gap with our main rivals – this is an encouraging development worth highlighting."

Bottas commented on the race, saying, "It was a smooth and straightforward race for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, as we aimed to try a different approach and potentially benefit from a timely Safety Car."

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

Reflecting on the race's progression, I have no regrets about our choices: we managed to advance a few spots, reaching 16th place through our efforts, but that was truly the best outcome we could achieve.

"There hasn't been significant improvement in our speed. Although our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain that progress and make substantial gains. Nevertheless, this weekend has certainly been better than the one at Zandvoort. We have plenty of work to do to advance further, and we'll be focusing on that in preparation 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 straightforward race without any disruptions or significant surprises."

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

Over the weekend, there has been noticeable progress in our single-lap speed. However, it is evident that we still need to fine-tune the car and deliver a perfect performance throughout the weekend to achieve the best outcome.

"Our team prioritizes diligent effort over luck, striving to shave off those vital fractions of a second that could propel us into the top ten."

Sauber will undergo changes to become Audi next year but will retain their existing form.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a spot with Haas for 2025, putting Bottas and Zhou in a position where they must fight to stay in Formula 1.

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

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