周冠宇

Baku, 13 September 2024 – Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber had a solid day on the streets of Baku, as the team completed two practice sessions for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. On a very green track, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu worked with the engineers to set up their C44s ahead of tomorrow's qualifying session.

Valtteri Bottas (car number 77):

Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)

FP1: 14th / 1:47.640 (18 laps)

FP2: 15th / 1:44.785 (24 laps)

"It was quite difficult out there in FP1. We had quite limited running due to the red flags, and the grip conditions started from a very low level, which caused us some initial struggles. We had to make changes to the setup and downforce levels for the car to start feeling better in the second practice session. While we're heading in the right direction now, we're still lacking overall grip and a bit of balance, which we'll need to work on overnight. Our focus will be on finding that extra performance and improving the car's behaviour before qualifying tomorrow."

Zhou Guanyu (car number 24):

Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44 (Chassis 04/Ferrari)

FP1: 19th / 1:49.052 (19 laps)

FP2: 20th / 1:45.947 (25 laps)

"Today wasn't an easy day with quite a mix of feelings, but we managed to gather valuable data. The grip was significantly lower than last year, but by the end of FP2, we managed to improve the balance a bit. There's still plenty of work ahead, but I'm sure tomorrow is going to be another tight qualifying, especially as the track keeps evolving. As a team, we'll analyse the data, keep working on it and try to improve every single little detail along the way."