Bottas: ‘With our strategy the timing of the Safety Car was the worst possible’.
Valtteri Bottas said he “tried something different” with his strategy in Miami – but his plan was undone by the mid-race Safety Car, leaving him down in P16 at the flag.
05 May 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

‘Worst possible’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/bo...55954742902934


Bottas hopes Miami ‘an outlier’ for Kick Sauber as Zhou laments ‘real struggle’ all weekend
08 May 2024
Formula One - Official Site

Reflecting on setting off and finishing in 16th, Bottas said: “Of course, the starting position wasn’t the best, so I think it was good to try something different. Then, honestly, with that strategy, the timing of the Safety Car was the worst possible.

“It’s unfortunate… I think it was good to try but ultimately we didn’t quite have the pace today that I thought we would, so plenty of learnings to take from this weekend.”

He added: “I hope this was an outlier. In the last two events we’ve been in a better place. Again, the next race [at Imola] is a very different track, so with some new bits on the car then we’ll see again. But it is tight, you know, and small gains can make a big difference.”

‘Real struggle’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...B1EOvzkLzuo6AX


Bottas hopes Miami performance was an “outlier” for Sauber
13th May 2024, 0:01
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans

Valtteri Bottas admits that he was disappointed with the performance of his team in last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix weekend. Bottas finished 14th in the sprint race and 16th in the grand prix after multiple penalties for drivers ahead. He says he is anticipating a stronger performance in this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

“I hope [Miami] was an outlier,” he said. “In the last two events, we’ve been in a better place. The next race is at a very different track. So with some new bits on the car, then we’ll see again. But it is tight and small gains can make a big difference.”

‘Outlier for Sauber’;

https://www.racefans.net/2024/05/13/...nd-up-13-05-7/


Sauber: Bottas' race engineer switch tied to Audi forward planning
16:48 Fri, 10 May 2024.
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Sauber representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi has revealed that the team’s decision ahead of the Miami Grand Prix to swap Valtteri Bottas' race engineer was a move dictated by Audi's forward planning ahead of its full works entry into Formula 1 in 2026.

Bottas had worked alongside engineer Alex Chan since joining Sauber in 2022 and was informed ahead of last weekend’s race that Steven Petrick, a former performance engineer with Ferrari, would be taking Chan’s place.

The move hinted at a bigger picture, with Bottas himself suggesting it was part of a larger "reconstruction" initiative by the Swiss outfit in preparation for Audi's official arrival in 2026. The Finn seemed none too pleased with the decision, but Alunni Bravi confirmed the reason behind the change decided by Sauber CEO Andreas Seidl.

‘The Finn seemed none too pleased’;

https://f1i.com/news/507527-sauber-b...-planning.html


Sauber-Audi defends sudden Bottas change
MAY 14, 2024
GrandPrix.com

Audi-owned Sauber has defended its decision to appoint a new race engineer for Valtteri Bottas as of the last Formula 1 race in Miami. I think that's a question for the team, he said when asked why his engineer since 2022, Alex Chan, had suddenly been assigned to a different post in Miami.

It was quite a sudden change, Bottas added, "but obviously trying to make the most of it. I think it's part of the kind of reconstruction of the team. And yeah, so I don't do those decisions.”

The Finn admits that he isn't sure what his next move in F1 will be, having also declared that Audi signing Nico Hulkenberg for 2025 and beyond was surprising and early. I don't know, said Bottas. I'm obviously speaking to multiple teams, some talks have advanced more than the others. So we'll see.”

‘New race engineer’;

https://www.grandprix.com/news/saube...as-change.html


Bottas in talks with 2 teams as Audi prioritises F1 rival
Fri 3 May 2024 12:00
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Sauber star Valtteri Bottas is now in active talks with two rival Formula 1 teams about a switch for 2025 as Audi is prioritising a different driver to join with Nico Hulkenberg.

Valtteri Bottas is in talks with Williams about a move to the F1 team in 2025. Williams may have an opening beside Alex Albon for Bottas to fill in 2025 as Logan Sargeant is out of contract after 2024. The Grove squad only gave Sargeant a single-year contract last December to stay for a second season after the 23-year-old’s rookie campaign last term.

Bottas would offer Williams an experienced driver they know well from his days there from 2013 and 2016. The Finn made his Formula 1 debut with them at the Australian GP in 2013 and entered 78 races with them, before replacing Nico Rosberg at Mercedes through 2021.

‘Bottas in talks’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/sau...ises-f1-rival/


Valtteri Bottas hit with grid penalty for the Miami Sprint
10:02 Sat, 04 May 2024.
By Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

The full statement read: "The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 81 (Oscar Piastri), the driver of Car 77 (Valtteri Bottas), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence and determined that the driver of Car 77 unnecessarily impeded Car 81 during the Sprint Qualifying.

"On the straight before Turn 1, Car 77 was being driven slowly on the racing line after finishing a fast lap, while Car 81 was approaching on a fast lap. Car 81 and Car 77 needed to take evasive action to avoid a collision. The primary responsibility rests with the driver to ensure that he does not place himself in a position whereby he unnecessarily impedes another driver. Here Car 77 was driving slowly on the racing line and caused to the situation that ensued.”

"However, during the hearing both team and driver of Car 77 admitted that the team had not warned the driver of Car 77 that Car 81 was approaching on a fast lap. That was obviously an error on the team’s part and contributed significantly to the incident"

‘Grid penalty for the Miami Sprint’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/24518