Sauber Shows Signs of Progress Despite Bottas and Zhou Remaining Point-less at Monza

Sauber Sees 'Positive Sign' Though Valtteri Bottas Has Yet to Score Points

Sauber Chief Stresses There Are Grounds for Hope

Sauber is confident that they have reduced the distance to their closest competitors, even though they have yet to earn any points in the F1 Italian Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas secured the 16th position at Monza, while his teammate Guanyu Zhou finished two spots behind him.

Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant—who no longer holds a seat with Williams—are the only drivers in the 2024 Formula 1 season yet to score any points. Sauber is the only team without any points.

Sauber's pair of drivers started from the rear of the grid, leading to Bottas being equipped with hard tires for an extended initial stint. However, the team's strategy ultimately proved ineffective.

Nonetheless, 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 encouraging aspects in the team's performance.

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

"Although we still don't have the speed to compete for points, the low-drag package introduced at Monza and the adjustments made for qualifying enhanced the car's balance, providing Valtteri and Zhou with an opportunity to contend."

"We have a significant distance to cover before we can compete for points, but it's crucial to recognize that we've made progress today in narrowing the gap with our main rivals – this is a positive development worth highlighting."

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, as we aimed to try something different and hoped to benefit from the timing of a possible Safety Car."

“Sadly, that plan didn’t succeed for us, but I believe it was worthwhile to attempt it.

Reflecting on the progression of the race, I have no regrets about my actions: we managed to advance a few spots through our performance, reaching 16th place fairly, but that was realistically our limit.

"We didn't see significant improvement in our speed; although our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain our momentum and make substantial advancements. Nevertheless, this weekend was certainly better than our performance 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 back-to-back races in Baku and Singapore."

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

“Although our speed showed significant progress compared to last weekend in Zandvoort, we are still lagging behind our main rivals in terms of overall performance.

Over the weekend, there was noticeable progress in our single-lap speed, but it's evident that we need to pinpoint the car's optimal performance and deliver a perfect performance throughout the weekend to achieve the best outcome.

"Instead of depending on luck, our team is dedicated to staying focused and working diligently 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, though they will keep their existing identity for the time being.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for the 2025 season, putting Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in a fierce battle to stay in Formula 1.

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

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