Valtteri Bottas from Finland and Zhou Guanyu will start the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday from the pit-lane. This decision was made by Sauber, who made changes to both cars under Parc Ferme regulations. Sauber had a disappointing qualifying session, as both Bottas and Zhou were eliminated in Q1, with Zhou recording the slowest time. Since their grid positions offer little advantage, Sauber took the opportunity to make adjustments to the specification of the rear wing on both cars. Bottas also received new power unit components for his car.
As a result of starting from the pit-lane, Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon were promoted to 17th and 18th on the grid, respectively. Sauber is currently the only Formula 1 team without points this season. Their poor performance in qualifying, combined with the decision to start from the pit-lane, makes it unlikely for the team to break their winless streak in Montreal.
Bottas expressed his disappointment after qualifying, stating that they were very close to making it to Q2. He felt they could have achieved more if they were just a few hundredths of a second faster. He mentioned that his final flying lap was clean and the car balance was decent. However, he acknowledged that they are still struggling with single-lap pace.
Zhou, who had two accidents during practice and was the slowest in Saturday’s session, found the qualifying session challenging. He mentioned that not having enough dry lap preparation made it difficult. Despite improving his lap times, he couldn’t make up for the lost session. He believes they are not far off from their competition, but the lack of track time prevented him from finding the perfect rhythm.
