Sauber Sees Silver Lining Despite Bottas’ Point-less Streak at Italian GP

Sauber sees "encouraging indications," though Valtteri Bottas remains without points

Sauber's team leader maintains there is cause for hope

Sauber 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 at Monza, while his teammate Guanyu Zhou finished two spots behind him.

Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant (who is no longer with Williams) are the sole Formula 1 drivers in 2024 who haven't scored any points, and Sauber is the only team in the same situation.

Sauber's pair of drivers secured positions at the rear of the grid, leading to Bottas being equipped with hard tires and assigned to execute the longest initial stint. However, the team's strategy mostly proved ineffective.

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

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

"Each driver effectively managed both the hard and medium tires, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy with controlled tire degradation."

"Although our current speed isn't sufficient to compete for points, the low-drag package introduced at Monza and the adjustments made for qualifying enhanced the car's balance, giving Valtteri and Zhou an opportunity to contend."

"We aren't yet in a strong 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 uneventful race for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, as we aimed to try something different and were hoping for a bit of luck with the potential appearance of a Safety Car."

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

Reflecting on the race, I have no regrets about my actions: we managed to overtake a few competitors and earned a P16 finish through our efforts, but that was truly the best outcome we could achieve.

"We didn't see significant improvement in our speed. Although our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain that initial momentum and didn't make much headway. Nevertheless, it was definitely an improvement over Zandvoort. We have a substantial amount of work to do to advance further, which we'll focus on as we prepare 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 clean race without any disruptions or major surprises."

"Although our speed showed clear progress compared to last weekend in Zandvoort, we are still lagging behind our main rivals in terms of performance."

Over the weekend, we noticed a bit of progress in our one-lap speed. However, it's evident that we must pinpoint the car's optimal performance and deliver a perfect weekend to achieve the best outcome.

“Our strategy is centered on diligent effort instead of chance, as we strive to shave off those vital fractions of a second that will edge us closer to the top ten.”

Sauber is set to evolve into Audi next year, although they will maintain their present form.

Nico Hulkenberg from Haas has secured a contract for 2025, leading to a battle between Bottas and Zhou to retain their positions in Formula 1.

The only teams left with open driver slots for next season are Sauber and Red Bull.

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