Zhou Guanyu will not start from his original position on the grid in the Austrian Grand Prix. Instead, Sauber has decided to violate parc ferme regulations to make adjustments to Zhou’s Formula 1 car. This means that Zhou will start the race from the pitlane. However, he will not lose positions as a result of this decision.
Zhou had a difficult qualifying session, recording the slowest time and failing to advance beyond the initial stage. He finished two tenths of a second behind his teammate Valtteri Bottas. Sauber’s choice to modify Zhou’s C44 car before the race resulted in his pitlane start.
After struggling in previous races up until Barcelona, Zhou went back to using the chassis he had before Sauber introduced a new one in Imola. Despite starting at the back of the grid, Zhou felt that his Sauber car was performing better overall and was more predictable since the change.
Bottas also had a disappointing qualifying session, finishing in 18th place. Logan Sargeant’s Williams split the two underperforming Saubers. Sauber is currently the only team that has not scored any points this season and faces a challenging task to end the point drought at the Red Bull Ring.
