F1 points relief is “statement” for future with Sauber exit imminent

Zhou Guanyu conceded it was a “relief” to secure Sauber’s first points finish of the 2024 Formula 1 season at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Sauber’s latest technical upgrades have finally delivered an uptick in performance, enabling Zhou to end a team drought that had lasted since the previous visit to the Losail International Circuit.

Zhou scored points on his F1 debut with 10th in the 2022 Bahrain season opener, but the pickings have been slim ever since as Sauber’s performance has declined relative to the other midfielders.

After a season in which the 25-year-old and team-mate Valtteri Bottas have struggled to reach Q2, let alone score points, eighth in a hard-fought Qatar GP represented progress.

But it was far from plain sailing for Zhou, who won F1’s ‘driver of the day’ fan vote, as he explained: “I had chaos lap one.

“I lost the gear stick before the start, was in like the last two positions on the straight and then [Lance] Stroll divebombed on me again.

“So I said to the team, ‘I will make up for it’. And, yeah, we did.

“It was an intense race, some very important moments to overtake some people and then also, in the end, the last Safety Car restart. It was not easy with Kevin [Magnussen] behind, Alex [Albon] on the soft, but the pace was strong. It’s been a relief.

“We knew we had the best chance this weekend throughout the season and we grabbed it.”

Sauber’s new floor geometry, fitted to the car in Las Vegas, has delivered an improvement in laptime reckoned to be in the order of three-tenths of a second – not enough to transform it into a race winner, but enough to get it within range of the cars in front.

Zhou Guanyu, KICK Sauber, on the grid with his engineer

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

But the development has come too late for Zhou and Bottas, who are being replaced next year by Nico Hulkenberg and F2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto.

“I’d probably have had a better chance of staying on the grid next year [if this had happened earlier], but I don’t take it as a disappointment,” said Zhou.

“I take it as just how sometimes life goes – but in another way, it’s been a relief, mentally it’s been just so draining the season.

“For me it’s actually a good way, taking one year off, just waiting for a chance, hopefully next year, but then if not, the year after trying to get a…