Martin Brundle says one F1 car looks ‘almost like a limousine’ in Bahrain practice

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Martin Brundle was impressed with what he saw from the 2024 Sauber – also known as Stake F1 Team or Kick – during the second free practice session in Bahrain.

The Sky Sports commentator was standing trackside and assessing the cars close up and in action on the opening weekend of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Speaking during Free Practice 2, Brundle was very complimentary while watching the black and luminescent green car drive past.

Brundle impressed with Sauber during Bahrain practice

Although we won’t know just how quick each car is until qualifying on Friday afternoon, all 20 cars gave fans a glimpse of what to expect this season.

Daniel Ricciardo topped the time sheets in FP1 and Lewis Hamilton gave Mercedes fans hope by setting the fastest lap in the second session of the day.

The strong winds blowing across the track were causing issues and will likely be a factor throughout the weekend.

They caught out Lance Stroll during FP1 and he’ll need to be careful heading into qualifying and the race.

There aren’t huge expectations on Sauber in Bahrain, but Martin Brundle liked what he saw in practice.

The Swiss team – who will become Audi in 2026 – didn’t look absolutely rapid and Valtteri Bottas was sanctioned as the session started for leaving the pit lane seconds before the red light went out.

The Finn and Zhou Guanyu both have plenty to prove this year after a tough 2023.

It’s going to be fascinating to see where they end up in the pecking order when everyone is running at 100%.

Sauber looking stable in Bahrain

Watching the cars through turns nine and 10, Brundle said: “This is a key area.

“There you saw the Alpine, very stiff, very vertically stiff on the suspension, it was sort of nodding its nose and its head on the chassis there as they came over the bump.

“The Sauber is quite serene, it’s sort of almost like a limousine.”

Sauber would prefer their cars to be described as rocket ships by Brundle rather than limousines and ended second free practice in 17^th and 19^th.

However, they’re expected to be close to the likes of Alpine – who have had their issues – and Williams going into this season.

Bottas showed during his time at Mercedes that if you give him a really quick car, he’ll perform consistently well.

Sauber are unlikely to be battling for points every weekend, but if their newest car is stable and easy to drive that will help Bottas and Zhou.

Ultimately, they’d both prefer quick cars rather than sensible cars.