Kick Sauber eager to turn their season around in Barcelona
Following a wet and wild Canadian Grand Prix, Kick Sauber returned to its factory in order to continue to work hard to extract performance from its C44 and used the week between the races to get to Barcelona in the best possible shape.
The Formula One field returns to Europe as it makes its way to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. The sport's Swiss outfit Kick Sauber is eager to score its first points of the season after a tough start to the year that saw the team struggle for outright pace, suffer from reliability problems and from massively delayed pit stops
Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi stressed that his outfit's main target will be to improve its qualifying performance which has hindered its progress during the opening stages of the season.
“We return to Europe after a challenging weekend in Montreal, determined to bounce back at the first possible occasion. The team is united, we understand that comprehensive improvements are essential across all areas, but we remain confident in our ability to compete for points once again.
"The tight margins in this sport mean that even the smallest enhancement can be pivotal, particularly in qualifying. Improving our single-lap performance is vital to positioning ourselves better on race day and targeting a top-10 finish.
"Our dedication and hard work will be key to turning our season around and everyone, both trackside and back in Hinwil, is ready to embrace the challenge ahead.”
Kick Sauber's Finnish racer Valtteri Bottas has not scored any points yet with his best results has been a 13th place from the Monaco and the Montreal rounds.
The Finn's highlight has been his performance in the qualifying session at the Chinese Grand Prix. He made his first Q3 appearance of 2024 during the Shanghai qualifying, securing the 10th starting position, but he retired from the race with an engine failure.
“It’s good to be back in Barcelona, a place that we know like the back of our hands. This is a place that always suited me and feel I can be at my best here.
It's a circuit that has no secrets for the teams: we have reams of data about it, in every condition and with every variable accounted for so, once again, it will be the finest details that will make the difference, especially on Saturday.
"Although we haven’t been as strong in the last few races as we should be, we are confident in our abilities. The team has put in tremendous amounts of effort to understand our issues and improve our performance. It’s a tight field, but with improved qualifying, we know we can be back in the fight for points again.”
His team-mate Zhou Guanyu is also eager to improve his performance at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix after a string of difficult results. The Chinese driver is yet to secure his first points of the season.
“I’m excited to be back racing again, and I am determined to get back into the fight for points. Unfortunately, the last few races didn’t go well for me and the team, but we are determined to bounce back.
"We’ve used our little break wisely to identify issues and work hard to be competitive again. I have some good memories of Barcelona – last year’s race was a lot of fun and I brought home some points, too. It’s a track we know well and that should mean there will be no surprises – it'll be all about ultimate performance.
"It’ll be crucial for us to start strong: nailing our setup early into the free practice sessions with lots of running to put us in a good position for qualifying and ultimately the race," concluded Zhou.
