Valtteri Bottas believes Sauber is “getting closer” to scoring their first top-ten finish of the 2024 season after a performance last weekend at Spa that he describes as one of the team’s best yet.
Sauber heads into the summer break as the only outfit on the grid yet to score a championship point in 2024, with Zhou Guanyu’s 11th place in Bahrain remaining the team’s best result year-to-date.
Bottas qualified 14th at Spa-Francorchamps in tricky wet conditions and fought hard on race day to close the gap to the points-scoring positions.
While he ultimately concluded his Belgian Grand Prix a lowly 15th, the Finn believes progress is being made and that a long-awaited top-ten is within reach.
"Yeah, I think we tried,” he said last Sunday. “The positive thing is it felt like we were in a bit better position again with the race pace against the competition, but still not enough for a top-10.
“We tried something different with the strategy in the end, but it didn’t quite pay off. Like I said, a bit better than in the previous events."
When asked what it will take to break Sauber’s points duck, Bottas replied: "I think we are getting closer. Today, pace-wise, was one of the best or better races we’ve had in terms of pace.
“We just need to keep bringing upgrades, that’s what we need to do, otherwise keep progressing in every area."
Sauber’s under-performance this season has unfolded against a backdrop of internal strife at the Swiss outfit which became public just recently following Audi’s decision to dismiss both CEO Andreas Seidl and board chairman Oliver Hoffmann.
The German manufacturer convinced former Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto to take the reins of its F1 project while current Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will also join the Hinwil-based squad in 2025 as its team principal.
Bottas, whose contract with Sauber ends this year, acknowledged that the new team leadership will need time to implement its vision.
“It’s a bit of a reset again,” he said, quoted by Motorsport Week. “It’s not a secret that when there’s a new leadership, it will always take a bit of time, first of all.
“Mattia needs to know what are the weaknesses, what are the strengths, what are the priorities for short- and long-term improvements, and that’s going to take a bit of time.
“Again, it’s the third time now in three years, within three years, that we’ve had change at the top, so not a new situation, and the team shouldn’t be too affected at this point.
“I think it’s more the stuff for the future, and obviously time will show what will happen.”
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