Sauber endured a disastrous 2024 F1 season, finishing last with just four points despite early optimism and bold changes.
Sauber entered the 2024 season with a degree of optimism as bold as its striking new green livery and its rebranded identity as the Stake F1 Team (or Kick Sauber, depending on the country).
Unfortunately, the Swiss team’s season turned out to be less a revival and more a disaster, only managing to score its first points in the closing moments of the lengthy 24-race campaign. These four points weren’t enough to lift Sauber off the 10th and final position in the standings.
Bahrain set the tone, with Valtteri Bottas enduring a pit stop so slow that one could have brewed a cup of coffee for the Finn before he was sent back onto the track. A week later in Jeddah, Guanyu Zhou faced the same wheel nut issue. It took several races, until Imola, for Sauber to implement a definitive fix.
Even when the car was operational, it wasn’t fast. The C44 received a few updates during the season that at best maintained the performance gap and at worst caused further setbacks. Only the final upgrade, spearheaded by Mattia Binotto, hinted at a potential turnaround that could make 2025 less dismal than anticipated.
The team hit rock bottom with its ill-fated Hungarian upgrade package, which plunged Sauber back into the depths for the remainder of the season. Zandvoort marked the lowest point, with both cars finishing two laps down.
The drivers fought valiantly against the odds. Bottas, ever the professional, extracted every ounce of performance from the C44. Zhou, often forced to run with older components, was the one to finally end the team’s drought, securing an eighth-place finish and four points in Qatar—Sauber’s only points of the year.
The team now looks to fresh faces to reverse its fortunes next season, the last dress rehearsal before Audi officially enters the fold in 2026.
Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou will not return, replaced by Nico Hulkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto. This promising pairing was handpicked by Mattia Binotto, the former Ferrari team principal, now leading Sauber for his first full season. Farewell, Andreas Seidl.
- Statistics
- 10th in the championship with 4 points
- 0 victories
- 0 pole positions
- 0 podiums
- 0 fastest laps
- 0 Hat Tricks
- 0 Grand Slams
- 0 laps led
- 2,705 laps completed (93.66% of the total)
Driver Comparison
Races: 21–3 in favor of Bottas
Qualifying: 14–10 in favor of Bottas
- Discover More>Daniel Ricciardo : The Full Story of His 2024 F1 Season
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F1 2024 Season Review – Stake F1 F1 2024 Season Review – Stake F1
