Sauber Sees Progress Despite Point-less Streak: Bottas and Zhou Show Promise at Monza

Clean Racing Sees "Encouraging Sign" Despite Valtteri Bottas Remaining Without Points

Clean Racing's Chief Asserts There Are Grounds for Hope

Sauber is confident that they have narrowed the distance to their closest competitors, even though they have yet to score any points at the Formula 1 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 is no longer with Williams) are the only Formula 1 drivers in 2024 who haven't scored any points, and Sauber remains the only team without points.

Sauber’s drivers started from the rear of the grid, so the team opted to put Bottas on hard tires, allowing him to run a lengthy initial stint. However, this strategy didn't yield significant results.

Nevertheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi maintains that there is a sense of hope.

He stated that while the final standings may appear similar to past races, there were noticeable improvements in the team's performance.

"Each driver successfully maintained their hard and medium tires, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy and keep degradation in check."

"Naturally, we still don't have the speed necessary to compete for points, but the low-drag package introduced at Monza and the adjustments made for qualifying have enhanced the car's balance, allowing Valtteri and Zhou to contend."

"We're not yet at the point where we can compete for points, but it's important to note that we've made progress in closing the gap with our main rivals. This is an encouraging development that we should highlight."

Bottas commented on the race, saying, "It was a straightforward and calm race for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, as we aimed to try something different and hoped for a favorable Safety Car timing."

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

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

"We didn't significantly improve our speed this weekend. Although we had a good start, we couldn't maintain our momentum or make substantial gains. Nevertheless, this weekend was definitely better than our experience at Zandvoort. We have a lot of work to do to make further progress, and that will be our focus as we prepare 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 proceeded smoothly without any major disruptions or surprises.

"Our speed was definitely better than it was 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 our single-lap speed. However, it's evident that we still need to fine-tune the car's performance and deliver a perfect weekend to achieve the optimal outcome.

“Our team is committed to hard work and determination, focusing on finding those vital fractions of a second that will move us nearer to the top ten, instead of depending on luck.”

Next year, Sauber will undergo a transformation to become Audi, while still maintaining their existing identity.

Nico Hulkenberg, who races for Haas, has secured a contract for 2025, which means that Bottas and Zhou are battling to stay in Formula 1 and not get eliminated from the competition.

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

Explore Further

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Site Index

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

It is prohibited to reproduce any part or the entirety of the text, photos, or illustrations in any manner.