Zhou Misses SQ2 as Bottas Sees Progress with F1 Updates

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.”