Sauber Sees Silver Linings Despite Point-less Season: Bottas and Zhou Optimistic After Monza

Sauber sees "positive indicators," though Valtteri Bottas remains without points.

Team leader asserts there's cause for hope.

Sauber is confident that they have reduced 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 spot at Monza, finishing two positions ahead 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. Additionally, Sauber is the only team yet to earn a point.

Sauber's pair of drivers started from the rear of the grid, prompting the team to equip Bottas with hard tires for an extended initial stint, although these strategies proved mostly ineffective.

Nevertheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi remains hopeful.

He indicated that the team's performance showed some encouraging aspects, despite the final standings appearing similar to earlier races.

"Each driver successfully handled their hard and medium tires, which enabled us to stick to our pre-race strategy and keep tire wear in check."

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

"We're not yet in a position to compete effectively for points, but it's worth noting that we've made progress in closing the gap with our main rivals – this is an encouraging development that deserves recognition."

Bottas commented on the race, saying, "It was a fairly straightforward and calm race for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, in an attempt to try something new and possibly benefit from the timing of a Safety Car if it came out."

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

Reflecting on the race's events, I wouldn't change a thing: we managed to advance a few spots, achieving 16th place based on our performance, but that was truly the best we could accomplish.

"Our speed hasn't significantly improved; though our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain our momentum and didn't achieve much advancement. Nonetheless, this weekend was definitely better than our experience in Zandvoort. We have substantial work ahead to make further progress, and we'll be focusing on this as we prepare for the upcoming consecutive races in Baku and Singapore."

Zhou mentioned that their speed today was not sufficient to compete for points, particularly in a race that proceeded smoothly without any major disruptions or surprises.

"Although our speed was evidently better than it was last weekend in Zandvoort, we are still lagging behind our main competitors in terms of performance."

Over the weekend, our single-lap speed has shown some progress. However, it's evident that we need to fine-tune the car's performance and have a perfect weekend to achieve the optimal outcome.

"Our team is committed to diligent effort and hard work to gain those vital fractions of a second that will edge us nearer to the top ten, rather than depending on luck."

Sauber is set to progress into Audi next year, although they will keep their existing form.

Haas has signed Nico Hulkenberg for the 2025 season, putting Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in a fight to stay in Formula 1.

The only two teams with available driver slots for the next season are Sauber and Red Bull.

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