Valtteri Bottas has admitted that Sauber’s recurrent Formula 1 pit stop problem during 2024 hasn’t been “100% fixed” heading into this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Sauber has been dealing with an impactful series of prolonged stoppages while completing pit stops during race distances, costing the team potential points finishes.
The Hinwil-based squad’s chances have been hampered in each of the first three races, which has seen it fail to score a single point in the Constructors’ Championship.
Sauber Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi revealed that new pit stop equipment was responsible and promised that preventative measures would be arranged.
With Bottas conceding that the problem could rear its head again in Suzuka this weekend, the Finn is hopeful that the Swiss outfit will find a permanent solution for China.
“There has been progress. There has been modifications made to the procedure and some of the materials that we get, some measurements have been taken,” Bottas said.
“But it’s not still 100% fixed, unfortunately.
“But, again, the chance of having any issues should be lower. Basically, it is an issue that it was kind of there.
“We didn’t know it before the season that it would be an issue, and it’s not a quick fix. But there is 100% fix planned, hopefully for China. Still not 100% sure.”
Bottas divulged that the hitch was identified at the Bahrain pre-season test, and he suspects that “there’s something to do with the temperature effect as well.”
Asked about potential concerns while going through the pit lane, the ex-Mercedes driver responded that he tries not to think about it, hoping for a clean weekend instead.
The ex-Mercedes driver also mentioned that the team apologized to him for the frustrating issue he faced during the pits in Melbourne while racing within the top 10.
“Yes, the team apologized, which is fair,” he said. “We are in this together, I was disappointed after the race, the whole team was disappointed. Because these things shouldn’t happen.
“But we’re definitely taking it seriously. And it is a priority now to get that sorted.”
Nonetheless, the 34-year-old is encouraged by the pace of his C44 car and expects this upcoming weekend in Japan to be a confirmation of the team’s recent progress.
“I was happy with the Melbourne performance overall,” he reflected. I was feeling good in the car all weekend.
“And, I know that with a normal race, we should have been in top 10 with all the things happening.
“So that’s good to know. Good to see and that we made a small step from Jeddah, so that gives me more courage for this weekend. We have another update here, which is the new floor. Obviously a very different track, but keen to see that if we can replicate or be even better than in Melbourne,” he declared.
“It’s getting better, but here it is what we’re going to confirm that we made the actual progress. Plus, with a new upgrade that we have here, I think this weekend will confirm it.”
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