Sauber Insists There Are 'Positive Signs' Despite Point-Less Season So Far

Chris Ladd | Sep 3, 2024

May 2, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Kick Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas (77) addresses the media in advance of the Miami Grand Prix at the Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Despite another challenging weekend for Sauber at the Italian Grand Prix, the team remains cautiously optimistic about their progress. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, who both finished near the back of the field, are still searching for their first points of the season. Sauber's strategy at Monza, which involved a long opening stint on hard tires for Bottas, ultimately didn't pay off, but the team believes they are closing the gap to their rivals.

Team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi has insisted that while the results are not yet visible on the scoreboard, there are positive signs of improvement. The fact that Sauber remains the only team without points adds to the pressure, but the belief in the team's development is a source of motivation as they continue to push forward in the season. In a report by Crash, he believes good things are ahead.

“We could see some positive signs in [the] performance by the team, even though the finishing positions, on paper, don’t look much different from the previous races,” he claimed. “Both drivers were able to manage their tyres well, hard and medium alike, and this allowed us to follow the race strategy we planned before the race, with degradation under control."

“Of course, this is still not enough to fight for points, as we lack overall pace: but the low-drag package we brought to Monza and the setup changes we made for qualifying improved the car balance and gave Valtteri and Zhou a chance to fight.

“We still have a long journey ahead of us to be in the battle for points, but it is important to acknowledge that, today, the gap with our direct competitors has been reduced – it's a positive sign we need to outline.”

Bottas reacted to the race: “It has been a pretty clean, uneventful race for us; we went for a one-stop strategy, starting with the hard compound, as we tried something different and hoped to get lucky with the timing of a potential Safety Car.

“Unfortunately, that didn’t really work out for us, but I think it was good to give it a try.

“Looking back at how the race unfolded, I wouldn’t have done anything different: we gained a few positions on track, getting to P16 on merit, but that was really the most we could do.

“We haven’t made a huge progress in terms of pace, our weekend had started well, but we couldn’t really keep up with the momentum nor improve much: still, it has surely been a better weekend compared to Zandvoort. We have a lot of work ahead of us to make a further step, which is what we’ll be working in the run-up to the next back-to-back in Baku and Singapore.”

Sauber's transition into becoming Audi's works team is underway, but the team will still operate under the Sauber name next year. With Nico Hulkenberg already signed for the 2025 season, both Bottas and Guanyu are fighting to secure their futures in F1. This situation adds extra pressure on the two drivers as they strive to avoid being dropped from the grid entirely. Their performances in the remaining races of the 2024 season will be crucial in determining their place in the sport going forward.