2024 Brazilian Grand Prix – Saturday

Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber experienced a day of mixed weather conditions at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, with a dry Sprint race where Valtteri Bottas finished in P16 and Zhou Guanyu, who started from the pit lane, crossed the line in P17. Unfortunately, rain disrupted the planned qualifying session in the afternoon, which will now be rescheduled for tomorrow morning before the race.

In these challenging conditions, we’d like to give a shout-out to all the fans who braved the elements to support our sport. Their unwavering enthusiasm is what makes Formula One truly special, and we hope tomorrow’s sessions will be an incredible show to reward their commitment.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: “We regret not being able to reward all the fantastic fans who were attending this Saturday session with a proper qualifying run, but the safety conditions were really dangerous, and it was not possible to run the car in these conditions. We acknowledge and agree with the decision of the promoter and the FIA, because safety must always be our priority. Of course, we must not forget our fans: the fact that there was a sprint race earlier today proved to be good in this kind of conditions, because at least they had the chance to see a very exciting Sprint race. Our effort this morning was positive, with Zhou gaining two positions to finish in 17th despite starting from the pitlane, showing good race pace and tyre management that confirmed the setup changes were effective. Valtteri was able to control both Aston Martins, though tyre overheating was still a weakness, and finished one position ahead of Zhou in 16th. Tomorrow will be a very intense day, with a qualifying session before the Grand Prix, and we are ready and prepared to give everything to reach Q2, hopefully with both cars, and reward the Brazilian fans with a strong race performance.”

Valtteri Bottas (car number 77):
Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
Sprint: 16th

Fastest lap: 1:12.698 (Lap 24)
Tyres: Medium Used

“As much as we were eager to go through with qualifying, I reckon the right decision was made in order to ensure the safety of everyone at the circuit. I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge the fans on the grandstands, whose passion and energy remained undefeated despite the rain and the ultimate postponement of the session. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make up for it tomorrow. Looking back at this morning’s Sprint, unfortunately, we knew gaining positions on track was going to be a tough job, as we didn’t have enough pace and struggled with tyre overheating. Still, we managed to keep both Aston Martins behind us, which was a bit of a surprise. The extra time we gained will hopefully help us trying to extract something more from our car ahead of tomorrow, as we get ready to tackle a busy Sunday with both Qualifying and the main Race.”

Zhou Guanyu (car number 24):
Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44 (Chassis 04/Ferrari)
Sprint: 17th

Fastest lap: 1:13.559 (Lap 3)
Tyres: Medium Used
“It’s obviously disappointing that we couldn’t start today’s qualifying due to the weather, but the fans here in São Paulo are simply incredible. Their commitment, staying through the rain and delays, is amazing. We started the Sprint race from the pitlane after making some setup changes, and while the car felt better than in yesterday’s practice, we were still lacking pace. Still, we were able to make some progress, overtaking both Aston Martins on track and improving on our starting position. As a team we’ll make the most of the time we have to prepare for tomorrow, with both qualifying and the race packed into one day. The weather here is always full of surprises, so we need to be ready to take any opportunity that comes our way. Let’s hope the fans get to enjoy some great racing tomorrow!”