The Kick Sauber F1 team came last in this season's constructors championship. That means their drivers score fewer points than other team drivers. Let's not blame the drivers for not scoring points for the team. The team will undergo a huge change from the 2026 season as an Audi F1 team. They will have their engine according to the new engine regulations. The change is visible as they signed Nico Hulkenberg and 2024 F2 championship winner Gabriel Bortoleto.
A Season to forget
Formula 1 is a sport where talented drivers need potential machines to score points continuously. Popular car brand Audi bought the team and Ferrari Ex team principal Mattia Binotto was appointed as the head. Sauber's Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are also capable and talented drivers. But in F1, the man and the machine should be in complete sync to win races and score points. Let's look at what went wrong this season for the Sauber F1 team.
Low Performance
Though they run on Ferrari engines they couldnt set the pace like other teams. Sauber lost back-to-back races all season against their key rivals like Williams, Haas, Alpine and RB Bulls. The team's only points came at the season's penultimate race in the Qatar Grand prix. Zhou Guanyu gave them their long-awaited first few points. It was a 12-month drought for the team.
They didn't compete with the other teams with some key updates and changes. Valtteri Bottas was like a machine during his time at the Mercedes team from 2017 to 2021. He was the biggest reason Mercedes won the constructors title many times. But even he couldn't get points this season.
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Poor Pit stop strategy
The team's biggest weakness was the pit stops, where the drivers lost their maximum time. Valtteri Bottas suffered a one-minute slow pit stop that ended his hope of winning points. Zhou also faced a similar issue and the teams redesigned their wheel nuts and guns mid of the season. In Australia, Bottas was running tenth place and was very hopeful. But a 30-second pit stop cost him his first points and also for Sauber. After that slow pit stop, he couldn’t recover.
Upgrades Not working
Like many other teams, the Kick Sauber F1 team did some major upgrades. But nothing worked for the team, and it all created confusion within. Even they couldnt take advantage of street circuits like Azerbaijan, Monaco, Singapore, and Las Vegas. They showed some shine during the later part of the season but it is too late as the season is already over now.
A bright future but a long road
The Audi team has taken over the Sauber F1 team and its operations. They are a big brand in the Automobile world, so they don't like losing the game. They have dominated many Endurance racing series. They have turned their heads towards Formula 1 and want to win. But before that, there needs to be many changes in their system, Working culture, individual responsibilities, New strategy team, Talent acquisition and plans to go forward in the toughest motorsport in the world. You can't win just by changing drivers in the team.
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