Bottas Concerned About Sauber’s Lack of Pace in F1
In the aftermath of the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas has expressed his concerns about Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber’s persistent lack of pace, which has left them as the only team without points this season. The Finnish driver finished 16th in Sunday’s race, citing the team’s overall lack of speed as the primary reason for his uneventful race.
Bottas’ struggles are mirrored by his teammate Zhou Guanyu, who has also failed to score points all season. While Bottas has outperformed his teammate in both qualifying and race head-to-heads, he remains statistically point-less, marking his worst start to a campaign since 2017.
In an interview with F1TV, Bottas reflected on his race, acknowledging that the team made progress between the Sprint and the main race on Sunday. “There wasn’t much action where I was, but we did better than in the Sprint race with the pace. We did find a little bit of something, so it was a little bit closer with the competition,” he said.
However, Bottas doesn’t believe that there is a quick fix to Sauber’s problems, suggesting that the issue is more deep-seated. “I don’t think it’s a short-term fix,” he emphasized. Nevertheless, he remains hopeful that the tight margins in the midfield could work in their favor when they introduce new upgrades. “The thing is, the gaps are so small in the middle pack. We have a direction of where to go, now we just need to wait for some new parts.”
Looking ahead to the next race at Silverstone, Bottas remains committed to pushing for improvement, despite the lack of upgrades. “Now, Silverstone, we’re not giving up before going there, even though no upgrades. It’s a different track, and we’ll do our best,” he said.
As the WEC 2024 season continues to unfold, Sauber’s struggles serve as a stark reminder of the intense competition and fine margins that exist in the world of car racing, particularly in the FIA WEC.
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