Sauber believes that its C44 Formula 1 car demonstrated during the Australian Grand Prix that it now has the pace to “fight for points at every race” on the 2024 calendar.
The Swiss outfit was encouraged with its weekend showing at the Albert Park Circuit despite failing to score points for the third consecutive race to open the campaign.
Sauber Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi believes that Valtteri Bottas’ progression to Q2 and his promising race pace showed it can battle for regular points.
Bravi acknowledged that picking up points for its Constructors’ Championship endeavours will be vital when the leading five teams remain unopposed without problems.
“Of course we know that this championship will be extremely competitive, and the battle will be really tough until the very last race,” Bravi told Autosport.
Bravi said he’s pleased about the car’s potential, as Bottas was running inside the top 10 before encountering another prolonged pit stop issue during the race in Melbourne.
“We have done three races, and we [would] be more worried if we didn’t have the pace to fight for the points,” he added.
“But we know that we have the pace to fight for the points. Australia has been a confirmation of this, so we need also to look ahead with confidence.
“This is the positive that we can take out from the race.”
Despite those positive signs, the Hinwil-based squad is still dealing with the glaring pit-stop hitches which have held the team back in the nascent exchanges of 2024.
Bravi assures that Sauber is looking to solve the problem as soon as possible, and is optimistic that points will be attainable once it can execute smoother weekends.
“As soon as we have fixed this pit stop problem – and we want to fix it as soon as possible – we will have other opportunities to score points, because this is the level that our car now has shown, that we can be in the position to fight for the points at every race,” explained Bravi.
“Because this is the level that our car now has shown, that we can be in the position to fight for the points at every race.”
Sauber, which runs under the Stake moniker, introduced a new front wing that contributed to its improved showing, with more upgrades to follow this weekend in Suzuka
“This is the positive that we can take out from the race. We have improved also with the new front wing, both in qualifying and the race, having a good balance,” he addressed.
“In Japan we will have also the new upgrade, the third this season in the first four races. The priority now is to fix these [pitstop] issues as soon as possible.”
