The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix emerged as a significant alarm for the team, previously branded as Alfa Romeo, now owned by Audi, signaling urgent introspection and strategic revamps.
With the dawn of 2024, Sauber transitioned away from its association with Alfa Romeo, embarking on a path towards a total Audi acquisition by 2026. This change introduced new brand identities, notably ‘Stake’ and ‘Kick’, alongside a neon-green racing machine. Despite these updates, the team finds itself marginally ahead of a beleaguered Alpine, trailing the leading pack, Red Bull, by a substantial margin exceeding two seconds per lap.
The introduction of a Red Bull-inspired pullrod front suspension and confirmation of Audi’s impending full ownership have not shielded Sauber from various operational challenges, including mishandled pitstops and accidents.
“Sauber does not seem to be able to exploit its full potential yet,” observed Auto Motor und Sport magazine, highlighting the growing pains associated with technological shifts and strategic recalibrations.
Echoing a longstanding critique, Roger Benoit of Blick newspaper persistently underscores the necessity for foundational changes within Sauber. He provocatively queries, “What can be changed and improved as quickly as possible with a view to 2026?” He further insists on the imperative leadership of CEO Andreas Seidl, emphasizing, “The CEO (Andreas) Seidl finally has to go to the front line and take responsibility.” Benoit’s critique doesn’t stop there, as he articulates the fans’ frustration with recurrent setbacks, concluding that the root issue lies either with the car or the drivers’ performance.
Amidst this scrutiny, Sauber maintains a cautious stance regarding the future of its driver duo, Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou, beyond the 2024 season, leaving their continuation into the Audi era uncertain.
Valtteri Bottas, the Finnish former Mercedes victor, faced disappointing finishes in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, ranking second to last in both, while Zhou finished last at Jeddah following his big crash in practice.
Bottas, aged 34, candidly addressed the team’s performance, stating, “Jeddah has to be a wake-up call for us.” He remains hopeful, acknowledging the early stage of the season and the potential for improvement, “It’s only the second race and we still have a few things in the pipeline, but we definitely have to improve.”
GMM
