Sauber Sees Silver Linings Despite Point-less Season: Boss Bravi Highlights Progress at Monza

Clean team's "good omen" yet Valtteri Bottas remains without points

Clean 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 any points at the F1 Italian Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas secured the 16th position at Monza, finishing two spots ahead of his teammate Guanyu Zhou.

Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant (who no longer has a seat with Williams) are the sole F1 drivers in 2024 who haven't scored any points. Additionally, Sauber is the only team without any points.

Sauber's pair of drivers started from the back of the grid, so Bottas was given hard tires and tasked with running the longest initial stint, but the team's strategy didn't pay off in the end.

Despite the circumstances, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi remains hopeful.

He stated that the team’s performance showed some encouraging signs, despite the final standings appearing similar to those of previous races.

"Each driver successfully maintained their tires, including both hard and medium compounds, which enabled us to stick to our pre-race strategy while keeping tire wear in check."

"Naturally, this isn't sufficient for us to compete for points yet, as we still lack overall speed. However, the low-drag package we introduced at Monza, along with the adjustments we made for qualifying, enhanced the car's balance and 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 is an encouraging development that we should highlight."

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, aiming to try a different approach and hoping a Safety Car would work in our favor."

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

Reflecting on the course of the race, I believe our strategy was spot on. We managed to move up a few spots and reached 16th place based on our performance, but that was realistically the best outcome we could achieve.

"We didn't see significant improvements in our speed. Although the weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain our pace and make substantial gains. Nonetheless, it was definitely a better performance than what we had at Zandvoort. We have considerable work ahead to make further progress, and that's what we'll be focusing on as we prepare for the upcoming consecutive races in Baku and Singapore."

Zhou mentioned that their speed today wasn't sufficient to contend for points, particularly since the race was straightforward and lacked any interruptions or major surprises.

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

Over the weekend, there has been noticeable progress in our one-lap performance. However, it is evident that we must identify the optimal settings for the car and deliver a perfect performance throughout the weekend to achieve the best results possible.

"Instead of counting on luck, our team prioritizes diligent effort and persistent hard work to shave off those critical fractions of a second, aiming to break into the top ten."

Next year, Sauber will keep progressing towards becoming Audi, but they will retain their existing identity.

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

The only teams with open seats for next season are Sauber and Red Bull.

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