Sauber Rebrands This Weekend Amid Struggles

Amidst a challenging season, Kick Sauber introduces hopeful upgrades and a temporary rebranding this weekend.

Do not call it Stake anymore… at least for this weekend. Indeed, in Belgium, it will be known as KICK Sauber F1 Team. This will be the official name of the Hinwil team for this Grand Prix at Spa, due to gambling laws.

The name changes, but the problems remain the same for Kick: the team is still last in the constructors’ standings and failed to score points at the last Grand Prix, despite some progress due to developments.

Will Alessandro Alunni Bravi, the team representative, speak of a complete flop for this first half of the season, officially ending this weekend?

“As the first half of the 2024 season comes to an end, it is undeniable that we are not where we expected to be at the start of our campaign, with no points scored in our name. But as a team, both on the track and at the factory in Hinwil, we are working hard to improve, race by race.”

“The Budapest weekend was quite challenging for us in the end, as we confirmed that we needed to take a step forward both in terms of race pace and consistency on different tire compounds to compete for points. Nevertheless, the new parts we brought performed as expected, giving us the direction to follow – both for this weekend and for the second half of the season.”

Valtteri Bottas clearly outperformed Guanyu Zhou at the last Grand Prix, in both qualifying and race. If anyone seems poised to score points for Kick, it is certainly him…

“Spa is an iconic circuit, and I have always enjoyed racing there in the past: it is one of those places that test both cars and drivers, and there are many turns that are simply thrilling – Pouhon being one of them.”

“There is no doubt that we wanted more from these first thirteen races, but we are doing everything in our power to reverse the trend. Our performance in Budapest last weekend was generally better than in the last two events, even though the race ultimately disappointed, proving that the developments have helped, and should do so here as well – this is the direction we need to work towards. Improvements are incremental, but everything in its own time: we must continue to push together to take another step forward, both this weekend in Belgium and for the rest of the season.”

Guanyu Zhou is more than ever under scrutiny, and it must be said that his performances, including at the last Grand Prix, would justify this. Can he surprise us this weekend?

“The first half of the season has been tough for our team, as we surely had higher expectations – but we are not giving up and will not do so until the end of the season. The new package we tried on Valtteri’s car in Budapest showed positive evolution, although there is still work to be done to maximize its output. This is something we can achieve together, as a team, as we have always done.”

“We need to stay focused, work on improving our performance for this weekend and for the second part of the season, aiming to close the gap with our direct competitors and get back into the points race.”