Sauber Sees Silver Linings Despite Point-Less Season: Bottas Remains Optimistic Amidst F1 Struggles

Sauber sees "encouraging signal" yet Valtteri Bottas remains without points

Sauber chief maintains there is cause for hope

Sauber thinks they have narrowed 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 fellow team member 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. Additionally, Sauber is the only team without any points.

Sauber's pair of drivers started from the rear of the grid. Bottas was equipped with hard tires and tasked with running the longest initial stint, but these strategy efforts were mostly unsuccessful for the team.

Nonetheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi remains hopeful.

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

"Each driver effectively managed both their hard and medium tyres, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy while keeping tyre wear in check."

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

“We have a significant journey remaining before we can compete for points, but it’s crucial to recognize that the gap between us and our main rivals has narrowed today – this is an encouraging development that we should highlight.”

Bottas commented on the race, saying that it was straightforward and uneventful for his team. They opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with hard tires, in an attempt to try something different and possibly benefit from a timely Safety Car intervention.

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

Reflecting on the way the race played out, I have no regrets about my choices: we managed to overtake several competitors, reaching 16th place through our own efforts, but that was truly the best result we could achieve.

"We didn't see significant improvements in speed; although our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain that momentum and make substantial gains. Nevertheless, this weekend was definitely an improvement over Zandvoort. We have a lot of work to do to take the next step forward, and that's what we'll be focusing on as we prepare for the upcoming back-to-back events in Baku and Singapore."

Zhou commented, “Our speed today wasn’t sufficient to compete more closely for points, particularly in a straightforward race with no disruptions or major surprises.”

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

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

"Instead of depending on chance, our team is dedicated to putting in the effort and diligently working to shave off those vital fractions of a second needed to break into the top ten."

Next year, Sauber will progress in their transformation into Audi, while still retaining their present identity.

Haas has secured Nico Hulkenberg for their 2025 lineup, putting Bottas and Zhou in a fight to remain in Formula 1.

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

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