The Sauber F1 team has acknowledged that it needs to improve its operational execution after successive botched pit stops impacted its drivers’ efforts.
In the first two races of the season, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu both failed to progress past Q1 in qualifying, a shortfall that unequivocally points to the lack of pace of Sauber’s new C44.
However, the team’s slow start has been compounded by the poor execution of its pitstop procedures.
In Bahrain, Bottas' hopes for a strong finish were dashed by a disastrous second stop. The team struggled for nearly 50 seconds due to a cross-threaded front wheel nut.
This inevitably dropped the Finn all the way down to P19 at the checkered flag.
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Last weekend in Saudi Arabia, it was Zhou Guanyu's turn to experience a pit stop glitch. The issue, believed to be similar to Bottas', cost the Chinese driver round 25 seconds.
The setback was particularly frustrating as Zhou was strategically well-positioned. He was one of the few drivers who opted not to pit under a safety car, and despite battling some cooling issues, he was on track to secure a productive 11th place finish.
Recognizing the critical impact these repeated incidents are having on Sauber’s performance, team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi has confirmed that the Swiss outfit is dedicating resources to identifying and solving its issues.
©Sauber
“First of all, for me, it's very important to say that was not the mistake of our mechanics or crew, they are doing a really good job,” the Italian told Motorsport.com.
“We know that we have a problem, we have an issue that has been the same in Bahrain on Valtteri's car, and this time on Zhou's car.
“So we have investigated, and we are working to fix this problem as soon as possible. And we are revising the parts in order to not have this problem again in the next races.”
Sauber implemented changes to its pitstop equipment ahead of the season, which indicates that a potential component or process is amiss.
"We have new equipment, we have a new design of all the parts,” said Alunni Bravi. “Of course, there is something that needs to be improved.
“And we are working in all the areas with a 360 degree approach in order to have a consistent pit stop, a quick pit stop, but also to not have any kind of problem.
"For us it's crucial now because we have had this problem in the last two races. So we cannot afford to have an issue during the races, because the potential of the car is there to fight for the points.
“And we have of course jeopardised this opportunity both in Bahrain and in Jeddah because of an issue. It's something on our side that we have investigated, and we are working to fix."
©Sauber
A swift resolution of its pitstop troubles is crucial if Sauber aims to turn around its fortunes in Melbourne next week.
“I think it's clear that still we're not where we want to be,” add Sauber racing director Xevi Pujolar. “And we need to do some further changes for Melbourne. Because we are too fragile, I would say.
“It's nothing wrong with the crew, with mechanics, they are doing I would say a reasonable job. But we had a problem again. So we just need to now investigate and try to come up with some containment for the next race, just to be more robust.
“We are causing a cross thread. And it takes time, because we have to change the wheel nut.”
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