Sauber’s Optimism Amid Struggles: Bottas and Zhou Aim to Break Point-less Streak

Sauber Sees "Positive Sign," but Valtteri Bottas Yet to Score Points

Sauber Chief Remains Hopeful

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 in the race at Monza, finishing two spots in front of his teammate Guanyu Zhou.

In 2024, the only Formula 1 drivers yet to score a point are Bottas, Zhou, and Logan Sargeant, who has since been replaced at Williams. Sauber remains the sole team without any points.

The Sauber team saw their drivers qualify at the rear of the grid. In response, they equipped Bottas with hard tires to extend his initial stint, but these strategies did not yield significant results.

Nonetheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi maintains a sense of hope.

He stated that despite the final standings appearing similar to previous races, there were encouraging aspects in the team's performance.

"Each driver effectively handled their hard and medium tires, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy with minimal wear and tear."

"Naturally, our current speed isn't sufficient to compete for points. However, the low-drag configuration we introduced at Monza, along with the adjustments made for qualifying, enhanced the car's balance and provided Valtteri and Zhou with an opportunity to contend."

"We're not yet where we need to be to compete for points, but it's worth noting that today, the difference between us and our main rivals has decreased – this is a positive development we should highlight."

Bottas commented on the race, saying, "It was a straightforward and quiet race for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, as we aimed to try something different and possibly benefit from the timing of a Safety Car."

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

Reflecting on the way the race played out, I have no regrets about our strategy. We managed to advance a few spots, earning a 16th place finish through our efforts, but that was realistically the best outcome we could achieve.

"We didn't achieve significant gains in speed; while our weekend began promisingly, we struggled to maintain that pace and didn't see much improvement. However, it was definitely a better performance than what we had at Zandvoort. We have a lot of work to do to make more 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 that their speed today was insufficient to compete for points, particularly in a race that proceeded smoothly without any disruptions or major surprises.

"Our speed has definitely improved since last weekend in Zandvoort, but we still lag behind our main rivals in terms of performance."

Over the weekend, there has been noticeable progress in the car's performance during single laps. However, it is evident that we still need to fine-tune the car and deliver an impeccable performance throughout the entire weekend to achieve the optimal outcome.

Instead of depending on luck, our team concentrates on diligently working to gain those essential fractions of a second that will help us move closer to the top ten.

Sauber is set to transition into Audi next year, although they will keep their existing identity for the time being.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for the 2025 season, which puts Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in a position where they must compete to keep their spots in Formula 1.

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

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