Despite being in the final year of his Sauber contract, Valtteri Bottas’s season has been marred by a series of setbacks. His retirement in China due to engine failure was just the latest blow, but pit stop errors have also plagued the Finnish driver throughout the 2024 campaign.
In Shanghai, a disconsolate Bottas returned to the pits after his car succumbed to mechanical issues. On his way back, he couldn’t help but notice the seamless double stack pit stop executed by Red Bull. It took the Red Bull crew just 1.9 seconds to change Max Verstappen’s tires and 2.0 seconds for Sergio Perez. Over the past two years, Red Bull’s lightning-fast pit stops have been instrumental in their success.
Bottas’s gaze lingered on the flawless Red Bull pit stop, perhaps contemplating what his season could have been if only Sauber’s pit crew was equally efficient. Despite Bottas’s occasional proximity to the points, those aspirations have been repeatedly dashed by costly mistakes. Even before the perfect double stack that Bottas witnessed, Red Bull had pulled off another flawless double stack on lap 13, with Verstappen and Perez pitting in 2.1 and 2.0 seconds, respectively.
Red Bull’s dominance in pit stops is undeniable, with the team boasting the fastest stops in the 2024 season so far. Sauber, on the other hand, continues to languish at the other end of the spectrum.
For Sauber, the Chinese Grand Prix was just another disappointing race in a season filled with them. Reliability problems with Bottas’s car added to the team’s woes, dashing their hopes of scoring their first point of the season. Local hero Zhou Guanyu was also hindered by Sauber’s struggles with pit stops. His first stop took a staggering 5.3 seconds, followed by a marginally better 3.2 seconds. Every second lost in Formula 1 is crucial, and these cumulative delays have cost Bottas and Sauber valuable points.
To overcome their current slump, Sauber must prioritize improving the quality of their pit stops. Teams like Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes have invested heavily in optimizing their pit crews, resulting in a significant reduction in errors. Bottas’s 30-second pit stop in Japan earlier this month serves as a stark reminder of the need for Sauber to make amends.
