After having a good start to the Chinese GP, Valtteri Bottas had to abruptly end his race on lap 20. During that moment, Bottas reported that the engine was gone, and that was it. The yellow flag was brought out, bringing another unfortunate weekend to the Sauber driver.
In turn 11, Valtteri Bottas was seen getting out of his car, it took some time for race control to decide on whether to call a virtual safety car or not, only to later deploy a safety car. The Finn was definitely off to a better start however, it was brutal to see him walk away from the scene in a disappointing fashion.
Currently, Sauber is toward the bottom end of the chart coming into the Chinese GP, both the drivers did well in the Sprint compared to their last performances. However, the joy was only short-lived in the case of Bottas who now has had another race weekend to forget.
The team had been seen dealing with issues with their challenger, and the Finn is afraid that their constant poor performance will hurt him in the drivers market. Bottas is set to run out of his contract at the end of this season.
Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas’s future in F1 is uncertain
It was made official earlier this season that Audi will officially take over Sauber from next year onward. Both Sauber drivers, Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas who run out of their contracts with the team towards the end of this season, have their future in the dark.
Ahead of the Chinese GP Gaunyu admitted that there is immense pressure, while talking about the same, he had the following to say.
The pressure before the weekend was so extreme. I never felt it until the first race I did, my debut. Everyone is here to see you, so you want to do well. That’s when mistakes can happen. It’s a big relief. I am really happy for today. It’s a lot of pressure, this weekend. There is a high expectation as always. Zhou Guanyu told Sky Sports F1
Audi has already made their interest clear in Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg, which pushes the future of the current Sauber drivers into further darkness. Sauber is yet to score points this season, and Bottas and Guanyu’s next opportunity to do the same would come during next month’s Miami GP.
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