F1 driver urges team to fix ‘obvious’ problem after ‘frustrating’ Australian GP

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Valtteri Bottas has told Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber to fix an ‘obvious’ problem after a ‘frustrating’ Australian GP in which he believes they should have scored some points.

The Hinwil, Switzerland squad are still yet to get off the mark in 2024 through the first three rounds. Bottas was Sauber’s lead driver in the Australian GP but he could only finish in 14th place. Teammate Zhou Guanyu also finished the Melbourne event one spot behind the Finn.

Only Alpine star Esteban Ocon ended the race behind the Stake F1 Team racers on the road, with Mercedes ace George Russell a classified retirement in P17. While Haas also enjoyed a double point-scoring finish with Nico Hulkenberg in ninth ahead of Kevin Magnussen in P10.

Sauber have had pit stop problems at all three races in 2024

Bottas had started the Australian GP in P13 ahead of the Haas drivers, Alpine duo Ocon and Pierre Gasly plus Daniel Ricciardo of Visa Cash App RB. But Ricciardo and Gasly followed the Haas pair through to finish in P12 and P13. Zhou finished in P15 after starting from the pits.

Yet another slow pit stop by Sauber in 2024 denied Bottas his chance to score points in the Australian GP. The 34-year-old had a 46.969 second stop on Lap 8 compared to the delta of around 17-19s due to a wheel nut issue. Sauber serviced his car again on Lap 36 in 18.938s.

The FIA fined Sauber €5,000 (£4k) for the pit stop infringement as Bottas’ wheel nut rolled into the fast lane. It was also the third race in succession where Sauber have had issues at their pit stops. Bottas had a 1:14.773 stop during the Bahrain GP due to a wheel nut issue.

Most pit stops in Bahrain lasted 24-26 seconds but Bottas suffered a cross-threaded wheel nut. It was then Zhou’s turn to have a 46.381s pit stop due to a cross-threaded wheel nut at the Saudi Arabian GP. Bottas’ pit problem in the Australian GP was similar but not identical.

Valtteri Bottas urges Sauber to find a fix after the Australian GP

Sauber implemented mitigation measures for their pit stop issue at the Australian GP. But it was, ultimately, not enough to avoid Bottas having another issue with a wheel nut. Now, the Finn has urged the Swiss team to find a proper solution as it cost them points in Melbourne.

“It’s frustrating,” Bottas vented, via Speedweek. “Things were going smoothly until the stop. We had a good start and, more importantly, a good pace. We should have gotten points.”

The Finn also added: “It is obvious that we have to continue working on our problems. What we have done so far is greatly reducing incidents. But the risk is still there, as we have seen.

“One element is also bad luck. The pit crew couldn’t have done anything differently. It’s a technical problem that needs to be solved.”