Sauber’s Struggles and Optimism: Bottas Point-less at Monza but Team Sees Progress

Clean squad sees "good indication" despite Valtteri Bottas not scoring points

Clean team leader maintains there is cause for hope

Sauber thinks they have reduced the distance to their closest competitors, even though they haven't earned 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 only Formula 1 drivers in 2024 who haven't scored any points, while Sauber remains the only team yet to do so.

Sauber's pair of drivers started from the rear of the grid, with Bottas equipped with hard tires to attempt the longest initial stint. However, the team's strategy was mostly unsuccessful.

Despite the situation, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi maintains that there is a sense of hope.

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

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

Certainly, this isn't sufficient yet to compete for points since we are still missing some overall speed. However, the low-drag package we introduced at Monza and the adjustments we made for qualifying enhanced the car's balance, providing Valtteri and Zhou an opportunity to contend.

"We're still far from being competitive enough to earn points, but it's crucial to recognize that the distance between us and our main rivals has decreased today – this is a promising development that deserves to be highlighted."

Bottas shared his thoughts on the race, saying, "The race was quite straightforward and without any major incidents for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, as we aimed to try a different approach and hoped the timing of a possible Safety Car would work in our favor."

"Regrettably, things didn’t turn out as we had hoped, but I believe it was worthwhile to make the attempt."

Reflecting on the way the race played out, I wouldn't change a thing: we managed to move up a few spots on the track, reaching 16th place through our own efforts, but that was truly the best we could achieve.

"We didn't see significant improvement in our speed. Although our weekend began positively, we struggled to maintain that energy and make substantial gains. Nonetheless, it was definitely an improvement over our performance in Zandvoort. We have a considerable amount of work to do to make further advancements, and we'll be focusing on that as we prepare for the upcoming races in Baku and Singapore."

Zhou commented that their speed today wasn't sufficient to compete for points, particularly in a straightforward race without interruptions or major surprises.

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

Over the weekend, we noticed a boost in our one-lap speed, yet it's evident that we need to optimize the car's performance and have a perfect weekend to achieve the best outcome.

Instead of depending on luck, our team is dedicated to staying focused and working diligently to gain those essential tenths of a second that will move us nearer to the top ten.

Sauber is set to transition into Audi next year, but they will keep their current form.

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

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

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