27/07/2024
NEWS STORY
KICK Sauber F1 Team battled through unpredictable weather conditions in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas convincingly claimed a place in Q2, setting the 14th time in the session; team-mate, Zhou Guanyu, was unable to improve his time in his final attempt, finishing 20th in Q1.
With conditions expected to evolve further for race day, the team will focus on preparing to make the most of opportunities around the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: "Today was a tricky session for everyone on track due to changeable conditions. We started the session on a wet track that dried with each lap. Overall, it was a good session for Valtteri, who maximised performance in Q1 when he finished in P11, less than seven tenths of a second off the best time. Our strategy to use two new sets of inters paid off for him. In Q2, he maximised performance at the end of the session, when he experienced a damper last sector, closing today's qualifying in P14, meaning we're once again in the mix. Zhou, however, struggled more with today's track conditions, especially at the beginning of the session. We opted for the same strategy, pitting him for a second set of inters and keeping him in the pit lane to position him for the last lap - allowing him to cross the chequered flag as one of the last cars when track conditions became more favourable. Unfortunately, three cars passed him in the chicane before the last lap, resulting in a loss of almost eight tenths of a second between the finish line and La Source. With an already compromised lap, he wasn't able to improve his lap time on the final attempt - a lap that was deleted regardless due to exceeding track limits at Turn 4. This leaves a bitter taste for all of us as he had the potential to enter Q2."
Valtteri Bottas: "I feel we made the most out it today - considering the unpredictable, ever-changing track conditions. We manage to put in clean laps with good timing, and the end result is pretty much an indication of where we stand at the moment. Every lap felt different, and it was quite the challenge to estimate tyre grip, but we managed to improve on the last push lap of Q2 on a new set of tyres - eventually claiming 14th on the grid. The conditions are set to be different again tomorrow, but we were able to put in a good amount of running in the dry yesterday to properly understand our setup ahead of the race, which should help us be in the mix. Tomorrow is a new opportunity to go for it, and it would be nice to finally get points before heading into the summer break. We've seen some unpredictable races on this track, and overall, it's always been a pretty pace-dominated race, so let's see what we have in store for tomorrow."
Zhou Guanyu: "I feel like we definitely missed a chance in today's qualifying session. My first run on inters wasn't bad, and I believe I could have made it into the top 15 at that point. However, when pitting for a fresh set of tyres, the team held me in the pit lane to time our final run better and, unfortunately, this strategy didn't work out. I ended up at the back of a train of cars heading into the final chicane, and with only one lap to optimally prepare my tyres, it was impossible to improve my time. It's disappointing because I think we could have achieved a better result. Despite this setback, I believe we can make up some ground tomorrow, given my overall feeling today and the way the car was performing."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Spa here.