Kick Sauber just logged a full calendar year without scoring a single point, a stark contrast to what's been billed as F1's closest season in years. After a promising start to their 2022 campaign with Valtteri Bottas's sixth place in Bahrain, the team’s fortunes have plummeted. Since the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, neither Bottas nor Zhou Guanyu has cracked the top ten across 23 Grands Prix and five sprint races.
Early 2024 was particularly brutal, with crippling pit stop issues in Bahrain, Jeddah, and Australia derailing any points chances, even when running in tenth. Despite racing on American soil at COTA and Las Vegas, the team’s form remained dire, highlighted by a chaotic Las Vegas Grand Prix for Bottas. Development lags behind rivals, with Bottas and Zhou combining for a dismal eight Q1 escapes out of 36 attempts – far worse than even Haas's improved showing. With the Audi takeover looming, Sauber faces a daunting task to break this historic drought.
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