Jacques Villeneuve has harshly criticized Sauber, claiming that the Swiss outfit isn’t even trying to be competitive in Formula 1.
Sauber, which is in the process of transitioning into the works Audi team, still lingers at the bottom of the Constructors’ standings, with zero points on the board after 17 races.
The Hinwil squad’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix was another case of the team seemingly being absent from any mid-field battle, with Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas concluding their day in Baku a lowly 14th and 16th respectively.
Hampered by poor performances and ongoing technical issues, the team continues to paint a bleak picture weekend in and weekend out, which has raised concerns ahead of Audi’s takeover in 2026.
Speaking after last Sunday’s race, Sky F1 reporter Ted Kravitz attempted to find some positives in Sauber’s situation, noting how close the lap times across the grid have been.
“I mean the funny thing is about Sauber is that they’re at the back more or less every qualifying and more or less every race,” Kravitz said.
“But you look at the times, the grid is so close, it’s only about a second, maybe a second-and-a-half that they’re off pole.
“So, it’s obviously not a bad car, it’s just compared to everybody else it is.”
Villeneuve, however, dismissed Kravitz’s view, pointing to what he sees as a critical lack of ambition on the part of Sauber.
“They’re just surviving until Audi takes over,” said the 1997 World Champion. “They don’t seem like they’re pushing much into the car.
“They’re not even trying to be that competitive, so, there’s not much to say there.”
Ahead of Audi’s full takeover, the team appears indeed to be in a holding pattern, awaiting the influx of new resources and management rather than aggressively pursuing performance improvements.
Mattia Binotto, the former Ferrari team boss, has taken over as Sauber’s Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer, replacing Andreas Seidl.
Red Bull's long-time stalwart Jonathan Wheatley is also set to join the outfit as its team pprincipal next season. Binotto, who started his new role on August 1, has made it clear that Sauber’s current performance is unacceptable.
“We cannot afford it,” said the Italian, speaking at Monza earlier this month.
“I think this is the team that has to become, in the future, a winning team. And the only way to do that is starting to move up, progressing. We need to train our muscles for the future.
“So, yes, I think we need certainly to improve. That’s important for ourselves, that’s important for the team. It’s important for the brand. It’s important for our partners. And we cannot somehow accept the current position.”
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