Sauber Sees Silver Lining Despite Point-less Finish at Monza: Bottas and Zhou Show Signs of Progress

Sauber sees "positive indicators" despite Valtteri Bottas not scoring points

Sauber team leader remains optimistic

Sauber is confident that they have reduced the distance between themselves and their closest competitors, although they have yet to earn any points at the F1 Italian Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas secured the 16th spot at Monza, finishing two positions 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 have not scored any points, and Sauber remains the only team without any points.

The Sauber team saw their drivers qualify at the rear of the grid. To address this, they equipped Bottas with hard tires and had him run the longest initial stint possible. Despite these strategies, their efforts mostly proved futile.

Nonetheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi remains hopeful.

He stated that, despite the final standings looking similar to past races, the team's performance showed some encouraging signs.

"Each driver successfully maintained their hard and medium tires, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy with minimal tire wear."

"Naturally, this still isn’t sufficient for us to compete for points since our overall speed is lacking. However, the low-drag package we introduced at Monza along with the adjustments we made for qualifying enhanced the car's balance, providing Valtteri and Zhou an opportunity to contend."

"We are not yet in a position to compete for points, but it is worth noting that the distance between us and our main rivals has decreased today – this is a promising development that we should highlight."

Bottas commented on the race, saying, "The race was quite smooth and without any major incidents for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, in an attempt to try something different and capitalize on the timing of a possible 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 believe I made all the right decisions. We managed to overtake several competitors, earning a 16th place finish through our efforts, but that was the best outcome we could achieve.

"We didn't see a significant increase in our speed; although our weekend started off promisingly, we struggled to maintain that initial momentum and didn't make substantial improvements. Nevertheless, this weekend was definitely better than our performance at Zandvoort. We have a considerable amount of work to do before the upcoming consecutive races in Baku and Singapore, and that's where our focus will be."

Zhou commented, “Our speed today didn’t allow us to compete near the point-scoring positions, particularly in a straightforward race without any disruptions or major surprises.

"Although our speed has noticeably improved since last weekend in Zandvoort, 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 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 fortune, our team is dedicated to diligently working to shave off those vital fractions of a second that will help us move up closer to the top ten.

Sauber is set to transition into Audi next year, although they will keep operating under their existing identity.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for 2025, putting pressure on Bottas and Zhou, who are fighting to stay in Formula 1.

Only Sauber and Red Bull still have open driver spots for the upcoming season.

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