Bottas: There is progress, but much remains to be done

Sauber failed to earn points in Barcelona. The team’s best result at the Spanish Grand Prix was Guanyu Zhou’s thirteenth place. His teammate Valtteri Bottas saw the checkered flag in sixteenth. However, the team believes that they have been able to improve.

Guanyu Zhou (13th): “Today we had a good race compared to the previous two. We were strong most of the day. I didn’t expect to be competing against Haas, but it shows that we have definitely taken a step forward.

The only setback was the first lap, when I tried to gain positions on the outside radius and almost flew into the gravel. Then I was able to bounce back and finish thirteenth. I am happy with the step forward that has been taken. It feels like a breakthrough, not in terms of results, but in terms of how the car feels. I feel comfortable behind the wheel and can drive and drive the car as I am used to.

This major step forward will give us all the motivation to continue working and closing the gap. I hope that we will continue to follow the chosen path and return to the points soon.

I believe we are now much closer to the positions we held at the start of the season, when we were almost at the top of the mid-table. I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel again in Austria.”

Valtteri Bottas (16th): “Today we decided to split the strategy and I opted for a more aggressive strategy. The first stint on the Soft tires went well and I thought this was the best compound for the race, but unfortunately this was not the case as the compound deteriorated quickly.

I had to make an early pit stop, which made the last stint very long. I had to take care of the tires, so I couldn’t demonstrate the true speed of the car.

One of the positives from the weekend was that our pace was faster than in previous races, as seen when Zhou finished 13th, which is great. We made good progress this weekend, but there is still a lot to do.

In Austria the circuit is of a different type, but we hope to be in the thick of it again and have a good qualifying. The next stage will be held in sprint form, so it will be important to get everything right from the start.”