Sauber’s 2024 season has not delivered the hoped-for results, with a standings still showing zero points, with only three races remaining in the season. The team’s best chances came early in the year, but they were hampered by pit stop issues, which made it difficult to secure a top-ten finish on several occasions.
After the first few races, when there was a real chance of earning some points, the engineers were unable to keep up with the development pace of their competitors, even though many rivals faced difficulties during the season. This was partly due to resources being redirected to address the early-season pit stop problems, which have since been resolved positively, with the Swiss team now among the fastest in tire changes.
However, this doesn’t mean Sauber hasn’t brought updates throughout the season, with two major development packages introduced in the middle and later stages of the championship, some of which are geared towards 2025, the final year before the transformation into Audi.
For example, during the last American triple-header, Sauber made changes to both the front and rear suspensions, altering not only the carbon covers for aerodynamic purposes but also making mechanical adjustments. Initially, these updates, similar to the large technical package brought before the summer break, were only assigned to Valtteri Bottas, but were later extended to his teammate Guanyu Zhou.
During the Austin weekend, in addition to a revised front wing, the team modified the carbon covers of the suspension (lower arm, pull rod, and track rod) to better match the airflow created by the new wing geometry. At the rear, the upper arm cover and brake cooling ducts were modified, an area very sensitive to improve efficiency.
In Brazil, the final stop of the triple-header, the last part of the American package arrived, with mechanical changes aimed not only at providing more setup freedom but, most importantly, increasing front grip, one of the limitations of this car.
This modification, as explained by Xevi Pujolar, represents a bridge towards the solutions that will be seen in 2025, which James Key had revealed he wanted to address during the C44 presentation at the start of the year. The technical director, who joined Sauber in 2023 when the new car was already in advanced development, had welcomed the switch to a pull-rod layout at the front but also noted that he wanted to be more daring in some areas.
“We’re trying to improve the car by continuing development, seeing if we can get a bit more grip on the front axle, and that’s something we can carry forward to 2025. Even though we’re in the final stage of the season, we’re still fighting to close the gap to our rivals, to see if we can gain some points,” explained Pujolar, Sauber’s racing director, regarding the suspension updates.
“So everything helps, both mechanically and aerodynamically. Every difference will help us fight and score points. This solution should help us better utilize the grip. Even small changes can have a significant impact in terms of tire degradation and help during a stint.”
During the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza, Mattia Binotto, the new head chosen by Audi to lead the “four rings” brand’s F1 project, emphasized that Sauber’s current performance was not acceptable. The team has also paid the price for focusing on 2026, as repeatedly noted by the drivers throughout the season. While 2025 will certainly be a transition year, that doesn’t mean the team doesn’t want to achieve some satisfaction. Meanwhile, for Las Vegas, the team will present a new “flaming” livery.
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