### “Sauber Spot Glimmers of Hope Despite Point-less Monza – Boss Stresses Optimism as Bottas and Zhou Fight On

Sauber sees "positive" progress despite Valtteri Bottas not scoring points

Sauber's 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 in front of his teammate Guanyu Zhou.

Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant—who is no longer with Williams—are the sole Formula 1 drivers in 2024 who have yet to score a point, with Sauber being the only team in the same situation.

Sauber's pair of drivers started from the rear of the grid, prompting the team to equip Bottas with hard tires and have him run an extended initial stint, but their strategy ultimately proved ineffective.

Nonetheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi remains hopeful.

"There were some encouraging aspects in the team's performance, despite the final standings not appearing significantly different from earlier races," he stated.

"Each driver successfully maintained their tires, whether hard or medium, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy with manageable wear."

"Naturally, it's still insufficient to contend for points since our overall speed is lacking. However, the low-drag configuration introduced at Monza and the adjustments made for qualifying have enhanced the car's balance, providing 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. The distance between us and our main rivals has decreased, which is an encouraging development we should highlight."

Bottas shared his thoughts on the race, stating that it was a smooth and straightforward experience for his team. They opted for a one-stop approach, beginning with the hard tires in an attempt to try a unique strategy and potentially benefit from a well-timed Safety Car intervention.

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

Reflecting on the race's progression, I have no regrets about our strategy: we moved up a few spots based on our performance, reaching 16th place, but that was truly the best outcome we could achieve.

"We didn't see significant improvements in our speed; although the weekend began on a positive note, we struggled to maintain that pace and couldn't enhance our performance much. Nevertheless, this weekend was certainly better than our experience in Zandvoort. We have substantial work to do to make further progress, and we'll be focusing on that 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 straightforward race with no interruptions or major surprises."

Although our speed has definitely improved since last weekend in Zandvoort, we are still lagging behind our main rivals in terms of performance.

Over the weekend, there has been some progress in our one-lap speed, but it's evident that we must identify the car's optimal performance and have a perfect weekend to achieve the best outcome.

"Our strategy involves diligent effort and hard work to shave off those vital tenths of a second, bringing us nearer to breaking into the top ten, instead of depending on luck."

Sauber is set to progress into Audi next year while maintaining their existing identity.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for the 2025 season, putting pressure on Bottas and Zhou, who are now fighting to stay in Formula 1.

The only teams with driver spots still open for next season are Sauber and RB.

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