In the first race of the 2024 Formula 1 season Sauber missed out on the points.
But you would not know that based on their thoughts heading into the second race of the season.
Zhou Guanyu finished just outside of the points, coming across the line in P11 after starting out 17th after missing Q2 during qualifying. Teammate Valtteri Bottas also failed to advance to Q2 and started 16th, but due to a lengthy pit stop Bottas finished at the back of the field, in P19.
Still, given what the team saw from their race pace in Bahrain, their confidence is soaring as the grid heads to Jeddah for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“We approach the next race in Jeddah with confidence: we saw what we can deliver in race conditions, having been convincingly the sixth best team in the race in Bahrain, and we can make one further step this weekend,” said Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi in Sauber’s race preview.
“We know where we need to improve, both in terms of car and in terms of execution: our single-lap performance has to be better, as positions higher up the grid would allow us to be in the thick of the battle for the final points-paying positions right from the start of the race, and we need to keep working to refine the set-up of the car to extract its full potential.”
Zhou called the performance in Bahrain a “big confidence boost” for the team.
“Last week’s performance has been a big confidence boost for everyone in the team. We know the basis of our car is solid and that we can fight at the front of our group of teams, but we also know that we have to keep pushing to understand how to extract its potential and set it up in the most effective way,” said Zhou. “There is a lot in the pipeline, and we will try and make the most of every opportunity we may have.
“From a personal point of view, I am very pleased of what I could deliver in Sakhir: it was a strong start of the season, and that made me hungry for more.”
The team believes that if they get top on the conditions in Saudi Arabia, it could be a strong weekend for them.
“The Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia is very different from what we had in Sakhir, and we’ll need to get on top of the conditions — of the track surface, of the layout, of the temperature — straight from the first practice session,” said Alunni Bravi. “We know how tight this battle is, and every little detail has the potential to make the difference. We are looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
“The track in Saudi Arabia is a fun one to drive: it’s fast, it’s got some really challenging corners and some sectors with an incredible flow. It’s a street circuit and, with it, come some specific challenges: track evolution plays a big part as the weekend progresses, and teams need to be able to react to it,” said Bottas. “I’m looking forward to it, and to seeing how well we can do on a very different track from last time out.”
