Zhou Misses SQ2 as Bottas Sees Progress with F1 Updates

Bottas Calls SQ2 Performance ‘More Positive’ for Stake F1

Bottas celebrates progress with his SQ2 result for Stake F1, while Zhou believes an earlier pit exit could have secured his place.

Valtteri Bottas progressed to SQ1, and while he would have liked to do even better, the Stake F1 driver is pleased to confirm the progress made by the updates installed on the car since Las Vegas.

“For us, looking at the season average, today’s result is one of the most positive. It’s only SQ2, but it’s more positive than being on the last two rows. It shows that the updates are effective, and now we focus on Sunday,” said Bottas.

“I think everyone will start the Sprint on the same compound. It will be difficult to overtake and make progress without stops. We’ll try to push, but we’ll focus on qualifying and aim for the top 10 for Sunday.”

Guanyu Zhou did not make it to SQ1 but believes his Sauber C44 had the potential to reach it, had he prepared his lap better and not been in the wrong operating window at the start of his lap.

“We were close to making it, but it’s a shame because we missed the window on the final run. I stayed in the pits too long, got caught in traffic, and was slower in the first corners, although I managed to gain seven-tenths, but I lost it all in the first two corners, and that’s where I missed SQ2,” Zhou explained.

“The conditions were tricky, there was a lot of wind, and it was challenging in the fast corners. Lap after lap, the handling was different, but it’s nothing compared to last year. For us, it’s about the window.”

Zhou Misses SQ2 as Bottas Sees Progress with F1 Updates
Zhou Misses SQ2 as Bottas Sees Progress with F1 Updates

Race Center
China Flag
Chinese GP
21 Mar 2025 - 23 Mar 2025
Free Practice 1
21 MAR 03:30 - 04:30
Sprint Qual
21 MAR 07:30 - 08:14
Sprint Race
22 MAR 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying
22 MAR 07:00 - 08:00
Race
23 MAR 07:00 - 09:00

2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
57
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.895s
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+8.481s
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
+12.773s
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+15.135s
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
+17.413s
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
+18.423s
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
+19.826s
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+20.448s
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+22.473s
Pierre Gasly
11
PIERRE
GASLY
+26.502s
Yuki Tsunoda
12
YUKI
TSUNODA
+29.884s
Esteban Ocon
13
ESTEBAN
OCON
+33.161s
Oliver Bearman
14
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+40.351s
Liam Lawson
15
LIAM
LAWSON
47 DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto
16
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
47 DNF
Fernando Alonso
17
FERNANDO
ALONSO
34 DNF
Carlos Sainz
18
CARLOS
SAINZ
0 DNF
Jack Doohan
19
JACK
DOOHAN
0 DNF
Isack Hadjar
20
ISACK
HADJAR
0 DNF
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
United States Flag
United States
Miami
04 May

2025 FORMULA 1 DRIVERS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
25 Points
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
18
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
15
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
12
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
10
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
8
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
6
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
4
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
2
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
1

2025 FORMULA 1 CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1
McLaren
27
2
Mercedes
25
3
Red Bull
18
4
Williams
12
5
Aston Martin
8
6
Sauber
6
7
Ferrari
5
8
Alpine F1
0
9
Haas F1
0
10
Racing Bulls
0
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