Valtteri Bottas Raises Sauber Concerns As Performance Struggles Continue

Chris Ladd | Aug 27, 2024

May 3, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Kick Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas (77) races into turn one during F1 practice at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Valtteri Bottas expressed his frustration with Sauber's performance at the Dutch Grand Prix, calling it the team's weakest showing of the season. Both Bottas and his teammate, Zhou Guanyu, struggled throughout the race, finishing in 19th and 20th positions, the only drivers to be lapped twice by race winner Lando Norris.

This result was particularly disappointing as Sauber has been the only team yet to score a point this season, though they have occasionally been able to compete with midfield teams. The Zandvoort race marked a stark departure from those more competitive outings. Bottas is hoping that this performance is just an "outlier" and not indicative of the team's potential in the remaining races.

This difficult weekend underscores the challenges Sauber faces in trying to close the gap to the rest of the field. The team will need to find improvements quickly if they hope to avoid a season without any points.

"I didn't expect the performance to be this poor," said Bottas to Autosport. "The start was actually OK and we were in a decent place compared to where we started from but after like five or six laps, I saw that I struggled to follow the pack.

"That's when I knew that we didn't quite have the pace. I was hoping that maybe with other tire compounds things could be better, but it never did. We tried all the compounds, so it's not the tire, it's the car. It just doesn't work on this track."

Bottas was asked if he thought Sauber's poor performance at the Dutch Grand Prix was a sign of a more significant issue within the team or if it was simply due to the unique challenges of the Zandvoort circuit. As a former Williams and Mercedes driver with extensive experience, Bottas' perspective on whether this was an isolated incident or part of a broader problem could be crucial in understanding the team's struggles this season.

"We haven't been this weak in any of the races this year, and it's not like we made a step backwards. This track really highlighted the weaknesses of the car with the banked corners, with off cambers, cambers, plus the wind, it just highlighted the sensitivity of the car."

"We're really sensitive to crosswinds and tailwinds. When you're going through bankings and off-cambers and cambers. It's even worse because the ride heights, they are not in the right window. So, the whole car is just too peaky, too much on the edge, it's not really a stable platform and anything that distracts it like crosswind, it just makes things a whole lot worse. "

The upcoming race at the high-speed Monza circuit will indeed present a different challenge for Sauber compared to the unique demands of Zandvoort. Monza's layout, with its long straights and high-speed corners, may offer the team an opportunity to regroup and potentially find a better balance in their car setup.

"It's long term, I don't think there's a quick fix - but this track is quite unique and this kind of wind we rarely get," Bottas said. "So I'm still optimistic that we can have better weekends and hoping that this was the outlier."