2024 Qatar Grand Prix – Sunday
At the Qatar Grand Prix, Zhou Guanyu delivered a standout performance, achieving a career-best eighth-place finish and earning KICK Sauber F1 Team their first points of the season. Zhou demonstrated exceptional composure and skill, navigating two safety car periods and intense midfield battles with precise overtakes and consistent pace. His performance was a testament to his growth as a driver and his ability to capitalise on opportunities in challenging conditions.
Valtteri Bottas also showcased a strong drive, maintaining competitive pace in the midfield and executing several impressive overtakes despite dealing with a damaged floor that hindered his chances of finishing in the points. Both drivers were supported by the team’s flawless pit stops, which played a critical role in maximising their race potential.
This result highlighted Zhou’s career milestone and Valtteri’s resilience, underlining the team’s ability to challenge the midfield and setting a promising tone for the remainder of the season.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: “Today has been a significant day in Doha for our team. Zhou’s P8 is a result that means a lot to us and reflects the immense effort of our people in Hinwil, those here trackside, and our shareholders. It was a challenging race where every detail mattered. Zhou drove superbly, managing his tyres well and staying in control, while our strategy change to extend his stint and pit under the Safety Car on lap 35 proved decisive. His strong pace on hard tyres secured this important result for him and the team. Valtteri also contributed strongly to our result, finishing just outside the points in P11. His early stop allowed us to gather crucial data on the hard tyres, benefiting Zhou’s strategy. Unfortunately, he was pushed off by Lawson at the restart, which caused damage to his floor and cost us, effectively, the chance of a double points finish. We’re grateful to all our partners and Ferrari for their support. There’s still a lot of work ahead for us, but if we continue with this intensity, we can look forward to a bright future.”
Valtteri Bottas (car number 77):
KICK Sauber F1 Team C44 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
Race result: 11th
Fastest lap: 1:25.533 (Lap 53)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Medium) – Lap 25 (New Hard) – Lap 36 (Used Medium)
“Today was frustrating, as everything seemed to go against me after a good start. The incident with Lawson cost me track position and gave me floor damage and, from there, I was on the back foot. Zhou was ahead of me and, therefore, had the first pick on strategy. The team pitted me early to learn about the performance of the hard tyre, and the timing of the Safety Car couldn’t have been worse: I finished 11th in the end — so close to the points, which makes it all the more disappointing. That said, I’m happy for Zhou and the team. It’s been a challenging year and his P8 is a well-deserved result for everyone who has worked so hard this season. Now it’s off to Abu Dhabi, where I hope we can finish on a high note. The team has shown we can be competitive, so let’s see what we can achieve in the final race.”
Zhou Guanyu (car number 24):
KICK Sauber F1 Team C44 (Chassis 04/Ferrari)
Race result: 8th
Fastest lap: 1:23.889 (Lap 57)
Strategy & Pit Stops: Start (New Hard) – Lap 36 (Used Hard)
“What a race! I’m incredibly happy for the entire team. Today was all about delivering a strong performance, and we did just that. We had great pace, stayed clean, and executed our strategy perfectly, making overtakes when it mattered most. It’s a massive boost for everyone involved. Finally scoring some points feels like a huge reward for all the hard work and resilience we’ve shown this season. Given where we started and the challenges we’ve faced, this result means so much more. Shout out to the team for delivering a great race.”
