Optimism and developments for Sauber in Australia

A bright fluorescent green for Sauber, synonymous with an aesthetic revolution for this 2024 campaign. On the other hand, on the track, nothing new. Same results for years. The Swiss firm's sports project seems to be floundering while waiting for 2026 and the arrival of Audi.

If we were to qualify the first two rounds of the Swiss team's 2024 season, we would undoubtedly think of the word indifference. They are neither good nor catastrophic (apart from pit stops which really are!). As if history repeats itself year after year...

No units in the bag at the moment, even if Guanyu-Zhou finished just outside the points at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Maybe this weekend will be the good one in Australia? In any case, this is what Alessandro Alunni Bravi, representative of the Sauber team, hopes: “We head to Melbourne motivated to quickly turn things around after a difficult weekend in Saudi Arabia. There is still something positive to remember: the double date in the Middle East shows that the car is capable of delivering a solid race pace ».

A Saudi weekend was also tarnished by Zhou's crash in FP3. ©DPPI

New features on the C44 in Melbourne

This weekend at Albert Park, Sauber expects several developments. A first step towards a much-awaited renewal. “We are aiming to improve our single-lap pace, to enable us to claim higher places on the grid and the developments we are making in Australia are intended to help us in this quest”, continues Alessandro Alunni Bravi. Currently, the team has not specified what updates will be made to the C44. The track will therefore speak.

Valtteri Bottas seems more upbeat than ever at the dawn of the Australian Grand Prix, a track he particularly likes: “It’s a really cool track and I’ve enjoyed racing here in the past. I won here in 2019, so I have good memories and I'm even more motivated to bring home a good result this weekend, proving to our competitors that we are serious points contenders. If we start the weekend off on the right foot, I’m sure we can achieve it.” 

Also note that for this Grand Prix, Stake F1 Team will not be the real name of the team. Due to restrictions on gambling advertising in Australia, Kick Sauber will be the name used for the weekend.

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