As the F1 grid prepares to come back to life in Japan, there are plenty of stories to keep an eye on. From Alpine introducing its first upgrades at Suzuka to improve its struggling A524, to long-rumored upgrades that Red Bull will also bring to the track, to the weather itself, there could be some surprises in store. do not have.
Sauber has one clear question the team must answer.
Can we fix what’s happening along the pit lane?
This season, the C44 showed decent race pace. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Chou Guanyu finished 11th and was in contention for points all night. However, the first worrying signs came during teammate Valtteri Bottas’ pit stop, when his crew encountered a transverse threaded nut on his front left wheel. As a result, there is no chance of Bottas taking part in the match.
Next came Saudi Arabia. Zhou was also among the points favorites in Jeddah, and said after the race that he would have finished 11th “comfortably” without the cross-threaded nuts. The problem forced the team to endure another long pit stop, and Zhou fell down the order, finishing 18th.
Sauber spent a further week between Jeddah and Melbourne trying to address the problem, but it turned out that a pit stop had caused the problem in Australia. This time Bottas was among the points favorites, but another failed pit stop ended any chance of a top-10 finish and the team was called up by the stewards after the checkered flag.
“As I said before the race, we have put mitigation measures in place for the pitstop issue and the situation has improved, but as we have seen, the problem is not completely resolved. “What happened is a slightly different but related issue. “Compared to what happened in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, we paid a very high price and completely ruined Valtteri’s race. ” About Arunni Brabi After the Australian GP.
Even worse, After the race, the stewards fined the team.. As it turned out, Bottas lost control of a wheel nut during his pit stop, creating a “potentially dangerous condition” in the pit lane.
Arunni Bravi said the team had been working “day and night” between the Australian and Japanese GPs to resolve the issue.
“Even after some difficult races, the team remains strong. We will not get discouraged because we know we can turn this situation around. After some difficult races, we will turn the page. I’m heading to Japan with that goal in mind. [capitalize] The encouraging pace shown during the last event finally allowed us to reach a place where we can expect our potential,” Alunni Brabi said in a team statement. Japanese Grand Prix Preview.
“Work continues day and night back at our base in Hinwil to resolve the pitstop issue. On a positive note, as in previous races, we outperformed our direct competitors in Melbourne. So we’ll use that as a basis for this week,” added the Sauber team principal.
Additionally, like other teams on the grid, Sauber is also introducing its own upgrades to Suzuka.
“In addition to that, we will bring back some updates that are the result of the team’s hard work, which we hope will help us move further and score our first points of the season.” said.
For Bottas, Hinvill’s work back at the factory and his race pace so far this season gives the team a chance to take a big step forward in Japan.
“Looking back at Australia, it’s never good to come home empty-handed from a race. Especially in Australia we showed real potential and we could have scored some good points.” In any case, it was That is now in the past and this weekend presents a new opportunity to bounce back, especially as the race pace was very encouraging,” said Bottas. “We are all aware of the work going on behind the scenes to resolve the Pitstop issue and we hope to see results soon. We plan to introduce new upgrades here as well. So I’m really looking forward to getting back on track and making even bigger strides.”
The Japanese Grand Prix is one of the best events of the season for Chou, who finished 13th at Suzuka a season ago.
This is also a good opportunity for Sauber to open an account for the 2024 campaign.
“As a driver, Suzuka is one of the best tracks for racing and I’m happy to be here. This is the third time I’ve raced at this historic circuit, and I’ve enjoyed the great races that have taken place here.” I can’t stop thinking about races, championships, and great moments I watched on TV as a kid.
“The spectators are also very special. The support and dedication of the fans in the grandstands and outside the paddock is something that is felt by all team members, not just the drivers,” Chou added.
“We want to have a good race here. Melbourne didn’t go as expected for us, but we’re motivated as a team to regroup and bounce back. There’s still work to do on and off the track. I know that, but the key positive is that the race pace we showed in Australia looked very competitive, so I’m keen to get the most out of our car again. “I’m here,” Zhou added. “If we could put ourselves in that situation, [favorable] If we can get on the grid and get a clean start, we have a chance to charge in and aim for points.”
