F1 News: Valtteri Bottas Calls Out Sauber For Delayed Car Upgrades Ahead Of Season Finale

Saajan Jogia | Dec 1, 2024

Nov 20, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Stake F1 Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas (77) during media availabilities at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas has called out Sauber for introducing upgrades to the C44 F1 car too late in the season. The Hinwil outfit introduced a new floor in Las Vegas, followed by a new front wing in Qatar this weekend, which means the team will have one more race in Abu Dhabi to run the setup before the 2024 season officially concludes.

Sauber is the only team on the Formula 1 grid yet to score any points this season, with the primary issue being a lack of car development. With Sauber undergoing massive changes internally to make way for Audi's complete takeover in 2026, the performance of the car remained neglected, leading both drivers Bottas and Zhou Guanyu to struggle throughout the year.

After the US Grand Prix, Sauber introduced a major update in Las Vegas, which is expected to influence the design of the 2025 car. The update features new underfloor geometry, along with modifications to the front ‘fences,’ floor edges, and diffuser. These changes are said to have made a positive impact on the car's stability and overall downforce.

Bottas feels it is quite "ironic" for the changes to arrive at this stage of the season, especially when he will part ways with the team to most likely rejoin Mercedes as a reserve driver next year. Speaking about the delayed upgrade, the Finn said:

“It's very late in the season and we've been waiting for these improvements for a long, long time.

“So it's kind of ironic [sic], but it is what it is. But at least we can now try and do something and just need to make the most out of it.

“It was quite a strange qualifying actually, every run was different. Balance was a bit a bit everywhere, which was not the case yesterday. So we only made minor changes.

“I don't know what was going on, but still I was aiming to be in top 10, but I think we've got to be happy as a team.”

Sauber declared a new front wing profile in the FIA documentation for this weekend, although it is essentially a revision of an existing design. The changes are aimed at achieving a broader balance range. Bottas added:

“It’s just like a trim.

“I think it's still purely the diffuser. The floor we had in Vegas is making the difference.

“That just made a step and, on this track, it just seems to help. It's just all-round downforce, a bit more consistency. As the grid is tight, everything helps.

“I think in theory, it was [an improvement of] three tenths [of a second per lap], which is decent in a tight field.”