Seventh race, seventh time no points in Formula 1 for Sauber. When the Swiss team last registered, it was still called Alfa Romeo – in Qatar 2023. There was a lack of pace in the race in Emilia Romagna. Even Valtteri Bottas’ monster stint of 54 laps on the hard tire didn’t help. Or finally better pit stops.
Valtteri Bottas: Much more aggressive race in Imola than planned
First things first: In contrast to Williams, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were spared catastrophic pit stops in Imola. This time the team was a long way from 52.44 seconds like in Bahrain.
With new pit stop equipment, the Sauber mechanics achieved 2.64 seconds (Zhou) and 2.71 seconds (Bottas). relatively good pit stops. Not at Red Bull level, but not so terrible that they ruin a race.
Apart from that, the weekend didn’t have much positive to offer for the future Team Audi: The Sauber duo started in Imola in 16th (Valtteri Bottas) and 18th (Zhou Guanyu). Zhou crossed the finish line in P15, Bottas in P18. However, nobody had a real chance of a countable result. Also because a safety car never came onto the track.
“It was worth a try,” said Valtteri Bottas calmly about his risk strategy. The Finn changed tires on lap eight, and his second stint of 54 laps was borderline. “The stint was just too long. In the last ten laps the tires fell away and it felt more like ice skating than racing.”
Zhou Guanyu drove with a “normal” one-stop strategy and then got stuck in traffic. The hoped-for safety car was a long time coming. “Unfortunately, many people had the same strategy on a track where overtaking is difficult,” said the 24-year-old. “We have to get more out of it in terms of pace and performance.”
“We wanted to be aggressive with Valtteri. In the end we had to be even more aggressive than we wanted because of Alonso,” explains Xevi Pujolar. Starting softly from the pit lane, the Aston Martin driver opened the pit stops on lap seven – Sauber had to react. So that the team from the Zurich Oberland no longer has to constantly rely on such Hail Mary passes, something has to change.
Clean: Updates are the only way out of the deep
Tenor: The only way out of the misery is through updates. In Imola there was a new foundation for the team, which performed as expected. There will also be new parts on the C44 at the Monaco GP. Above all, the qualifying pace needs to improve; in race trim the performance gap is smaller.
“We have to work very hard and close the gap. The Racing Bulls are one step ahead of us at the moment, Hülkenberg is also very strong,” says Pujolar. Fighting on equal terms with Williams and Alpine is not enough for the team. “We have to improve – as quickly as possible,” appeals Alessandro Alunni Bravi.
Many would probably count Sauber among the losers of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Who made it onto our hit list of winners and losers? Click here for the article.