RACE PREVIEW
Stake F1 ® Team Kick Sauber
STAKE SAUBER
After five years as Alfa Romeo , the Sauber team has returned to its traditional identity in 2024 , the first of two interim seasons before it transitions into Audi . There ’ s a lot going on in the background as CEO Andreas Seidl tries to put the pieces together and build up the Swiss organisation in readiness for its new status as the works team of a major manufacturer .
The process is not the work of a moment . Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu both made Q3 in China , but that was followed by a run of races where the C44 was the slowest car in qualifying until there were signs of an upturn in form in Spain . The team had at least addressed the pit-stop issues that hampered it earlier in the season .
Former Mercedes driver Bottas has a solid record here , taking pole in 2019 and for the 2020 70th Anniversary race , and finishing on the podium at Silverstone five times , including a second place with Williams a decade ago .
The fact that the man who on his day could outpace Hamilton in the same car is now fighting to get out of Q1 , shows just how relentless the pace of this sport is …
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