Sauber Head of Trackside Engineering Xevi Pujolar has warned Zhou Guanyu that “there is no room for any mistake” ahead of his third Formula 1 season in 2024.
The team, which ran under the Alfa Romeo guise for the final time the past season, slumped to ninth in the standings with a total of 16 points, a decrease of 39 from 2022.
Zhou contributed six of those points with a trio of ninth-place finishes but was comfortably beaten by team-mate Valtteri Bottas, particularly in qualifying trim.
The Chinese driver was responsible for Alfa Romeo failing to maximise both its cars starting inside the top seven in Hungary when he misjudged his braking at Turn 1.
After an inconsistent sophomore campaign, Pujolar has explained how Sauber plans to work with Zhou over the winter to ensure he remains competitive in all conditions.
“In some conditions, it’s been a struggle a bit more and we’re trying to understand what we can give him with the car and how we can work with the tyres, just to make sure he’s more consistent,” Pujolar explained.
“In some conditions, he is a bit more sensitive to what he is feeling. The differences are not big but in terms of positions they are big, so we need to work on that for next year.
“There is no room for any small drop or mistake.”
Following an uneventful final race in Abu Dhabi where he trailed home in 17th position, Zhou admitted that he was thankful the season had finally reached its conclusion.
“Glad, it’s finished, it’s been a very long tough season,” he conceded. “So obviously, we have things planned quite big over next year. So looking forward to try that out in January.”
Zhou believes Alfa Romeo was hindered by not developing its C43 car at the same rate as its competitors, with AlphaTauri introducing new parts up until the last round.
“A lot of our main rivals from the beginning of the season, they were able to just change massively, probably introduce a new car or B car over the season and made a very good step forward,” Zhou conceded.
“Obviously, we knew we were going to get that plan for next season. So this year was more about suffering the last few races.
“And then of course, you know, it’s been a little bit inconsistent, unpredictable in terms of performance track by track, but we definitely in general don’t really have the pace, especially over the race distance.
“You know, it just seems to be difficult to keep up with the top 10, even the top, like, let’s say 13 guys.”
However, Zhou has confirmed the Hinwil squad will be bolstered by a revised car concept next season, which will be overseen by new Technical Director James Key.
“We’re going to have a completely new car so it’s gonna be a different look,” he divulged. “Can’t say more than that.
“But yeah, it’s already planned a few races to go. Everything is going really quite well back home. So, looking forward to try that I get, yeah, and get some rest after afterwards.”
