Zhou Guanyu says if they don’t have the car performance, then even if they improve as a driver, they can’t show it in results.
In what was his second year in F1, Guanyu had a lot on the table. Not only he had to safeguard his seat for the future in 2024, but also maintain the performance levels when the car was not working at the desired levels.
His rookie season was pretty solid which warranted a second season, but the second year wasn’t upto the mark. Whether it was his own performance or co-related to the car’s performance, there were question marks over his future for most part of the year.
Several names were linked to the seat but Sauber eventually decided to continue with the same line-up. He scored points but there was yearning for more. Guanyu felt he improved as a driver from his first year, but he couldn’t translate those into proper results.
Some of it was down to the car’s performance level which wasn’t the best as Valtteri Bottas struggled too. The Chinese driver, though, credited the Finn’s work in low grip circuits where Guanyu admitted that he struggled and needs to work upon.
“Some areas clearly improved, some areas it is something I need to work on, so to be more into detail I would say, the Lap 1 or start performance as increased massively compared to 2022 and also the tyre management,” said Gunayu. “But in general, the 2023 season has been tough because we don’t really have the performance that we hope for.
“If we improve as a driver, you can’t convert that results on Sundays, it is tough to digest some of this but the area to improve of course is mainly in low grip circuit because my driving style is quite different to Valtteri’s. And he seems to be super quick on tracks like Mexico, Vegas – all this very low grip tarmac – with this driving style very special techniques.
“So, on that side I can definitely improve, I made a step already but from my side it still wasn’t enough. When you come to a new track like Vegas, I didn’t maximise everything I think, the issues I had in qualifying, but still the first lap, it wasn’t good enough. I wish I had just a tenth more which there was – more than three tenths in my pocket – but I was always taking a little bit more time than maybe Valtteri did in such low grip circumstances.
“Definitely things can be improved and in 2024 it is exciting, some good feedback already from the factory, how the car would be like, so hopefully the car can be strong in battles,” summed up Guanyu, who ended up 18th again like he did in his first year and co-incidently with the same amount of points at six.
Here’s F1 2023 teams’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-teams-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s F1 2023 drivers’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-drivers-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s Valtteri Bottas on wanting bigger moments in 2024
Here’s Sauber adopting ‘Stake F1 Team’ name
Here’s Sauber on James Key and drivers
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