Sauber Sees Silver Linings Amid Point-less Struggle: Optimism Grows Despite Challenges for Bottas and Zhou

Sauber Sees Encouraging Signs Despite Valtteri Bottas' Lack of Points

Sauber Team Leader Maintains There Are Grounds for Hope

Sauber thinks they've narrowed 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 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 is the only team in the same situation.

The Sauber team had both of their drivers start from the back of the grid, so they decided to put hard tires on Bottas' car and have him run the longest initial stint possible. However, the strategy didn't yield significant results.

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

He stated that despite the final standings appearing similar to earlier races, there were some 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 and keep tire wear in check."

"Clearly, we still don't have the speed necessary to compete for points. However, the low-drag configuration we introduced at Monza, along with the adjustments we made for qualifying, helped improve the car's balance. This provided Valtteri and Zhou with an opportunity to compete."

"We're not yet in a position to compete for points, but it's crucial to recognize that we've made progress in closing the gap with our main rivals. This improvement is a positive indicator worth highlighting."

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, as we aimed to try something different and were hoping to benefit from a possible Safety Car at the right moment."

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

Reflecting on the events of the race, I have no regrets about my decisions: we managed to advance a few spots, ultimately finishing in 16th place through our own efforts, but that was truly the best outcome possible.

"We didn't see significant improvements in our speed; although our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain that progress and make substantial gains. Nonetheless, this weekend was definitely better than our experience at Zandvoort. There is still much to be done to advance further, and we'll focus on this as we prepare for the upcoming consecutive events in Baku and Singapore."

Zhou commented, "Our speed today wasn't sufficient to compete for points, particularly in a straightforward race without interruptions or major surprises."

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

"Over the weekend, we've noticed better single-lap speeds, but it's evident that we must identify the car's optimal performance settings and deliver a perfect weekend to achieve the best outcome."

"Instead of depending on fortune, our team's strategy is to stay dedicated and keep pushing ourselves to shave off those vital fractions of a second that will help us break into the top ten."

Sauber is set to transition into Audi next year, but will keep their present identity for now.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for the 2025 season, which puts pressure on Bottas and Zhou as they fight to retain their positions in Formula 1.

The only two teams with open driver spots for the upcoming season are Sauber and Red Bull.

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