Sauber Sees Silver Lining Despite Point-less Season as Bottas Faces Uncertain Future

Spotting a "positive sign," Sauber remains hopeful, yet Valtteri Bottas has not scored any points

Sauber's chief maintains an optimistic outlook

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

Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant (who no longer holds his position with Williams) are the sole Formula 1 drivers in 2024 who haven't scored any points, with Sauber being the only team also lacking points.

Sauber's pair of drivers started from the back of the grid, with Bottas being equipped with hard tires to run an extended initial stint. However, the team's strategy didn't pay off significantly.

Nonetheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi remains hopeful.

He stated that although the final standings appear similar to earlier races, there were encouraging aspects in the team's performance.

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

"Naturally, this isn't sufficient to compete for points yet, as we still lack overall speed. However, the low-drag package we introduced at Monza, along with the setup adjustments we made for qualifying, enhanced the car's balance and provided Valtteri and Zhou with an opportunity to compete."

"We have a significant distance to cover before we can contend for points, but it's crucial to note that today the difference between us and our immediate rivals has decreased. This is an encouraging development that we should highlight."

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, in an attempt to try something different and hopefully benefit from a possible Safety Car intervention."

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

Reflecting on the race, I realize I wouldn’t change a thing: we advanced a few spots by our own efforts, reaching 16th place, but that was truly the best we could achieve.

"We didn't see significant improvement in our speed. Although our weekend began on a positive note, we struggled to maintain that momentum and make substantial gains. Nevertheless, this weekend was certainly better than our experience at Zandvoort. We have a lot of work to do to make further progress, and we'll focus on that 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 straightforward race without any disruptions or major surprises."

"Although our speed showed clear progress from last weekend’s race in Zandvoort, we are still lagging behind our main rivals in terms of performance."

Over the weekend, we noticed better performance in our single-lap times; however, it's evident that we must optimize the car's performance and have an impeccable weekend to achieve the best outcome.

“Instead of depending on chance, our team is dedicated to staying focused and putting in the effort to shave off those vital fractions of a second that will move us nearer to the top ten.”

Sauber is set to transition into Audi next year, though they will still retain their present identity.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for 2025, putting pressure on Bottas and Zhou as they fight to stay in Formula 1.

Sauber and Red Bull are the only teams with open driver slots for the upcoming season.

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