Sauber Sees Silver Lining Amid Point-less Streak: Bottas and Team Focus on Future Optimism

Sauber sees "good sign" but Valtteri Bottas remains without points

Sauber chief maintains there is cause for hope

Sauber is confident that they have reduced 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 in the Monza race, finishing two spots in front of his teammate Guanyu Zhou.

In the 2024 F1 season, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant—who no longer races for Williams—are the only drivers yet to score a point. Additionally, Sauber is the sole team without any points.

Sauber's pair of drivers started from the rear of the grid, with Bottas using hard tires to stay out on the track for an extended initial stint, but the team's 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 earlier races, there were encouraging aspects in the team's performance.

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

“Even though we still don’t have the speed to compete for points, the low-drag setup we introduced at Monza and the adjustments we made for qualifying enhanced the car’s balance, allowing Valtteri and Zhou to contend.”

"We have a considerable distance to cover before we can compete for points, but it's crucial to recognize that today, the gap between us and our main rivals has narrowed. This is a positive development worth highlighting."

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 a different approach and perhaps benefit from a well-timed Safety Car."

"Regrettably, things didn't turn out in our favor, but I believe it was worthwhile to make the attempt."

Reflecting on how the race played out, I have no regrets about my actions: we managed to move up a few spots and earned a P16 finish based on our performance, but that was truly the best we could achieve.

"We haven't significantly improved our speed. Although our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain that progress and didn't see much improvement. However, it was certainly a better performance compared to 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 races in Baku and Singapore."

Zhou stated, “Our speed today wasn’t sufficient to compete for points, particularly in a straightforward race with no disruptions or major surprises.”

"Although our speed showed a noticeable improvement from last weekend's race in Zandvoort, we still lag behind our main rivals in terms of overall performance."

Over the weekend, there has been some progress in our single-lap speed. However, it is evident that we must identify the car's optimal performance settings and deliver a perfect performance throughout the weekend to achieve the best outcome.

"Instead of depending on luck, our team is dedicated to working diligently to shave off those vital tenths of a second that will help us reach 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 contract with Haas for 2025, putting Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in a position where they must compete to stay in Formula 1.

The only two teams with open driver positions for the next season are Sauber and RB.

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