James Key, Sauber’s technical director, is reassuring about 2024 performances

Sauber is emerging from its final season of partnership with Alfa Romeo in ninth place in the constructors' standings, and will begin its transition to 2026 and the arrival of Audi. However, Sauber technical director James Key believes that the small gap between the mid-grid teams could enable Sauber to score points more regularly.

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A transition period opens for Sauber. The Swiss racing team will start the 2024 season without the support of Alfa Romeo and will revert to the name of its founder for the first time since 2018. The team will keep the name of Sauber until 2025 before the arrival of the giant Audi the following year.

But before the brand with the four rings arrives and F1 and pretends to play the titles, Sauber absolutely must make a comeback. The team finished ninth in the constructor’s ranking, with a meager 16 points. The duo Valtteri Bottas-Zhou Guanyu, anonymous 15th and 18th in the driver’s ranking have been renewed for 2024.

Despite these disappointing results, Sauber and its Technical Director, James Key believes in the team’s progress, supported in their view by a small gap between the teams.

« It’s a very tight field. If you don’t follow the numbers closely, you can’t see it from the outside, because the hierarchical order always looks similar. But if you look at the lap times, it’s 1.5% that separates us all from the fastest car. And sometimes, it’s less than that. If you look at an overlay between us and Mercedes or Red Bull, there are only a few corners, a bit of braking or something like that, » details James Key.

« It’s no longer this huge difference that we see with a car in eighth or ninth place compared to a car in the first or second place. A few years ago, the difference was huge, now it’s incredibly small. This suggests that there are still many opportunities if we do things right, both on the track and in the factory, in our decisions on development and the car », the Briton confirms.

« I think that all the fundamentals are definitely there »

The fifty-something continues by asserting that the team will be better equipped in the struggle for points.

« Everyone is in the same boat. But there’s no reason to think we’re stuck in this position. I believe we can certainly move forward. And if you look at the range, I guess, from fifth place to tenth place, it’s very tight. I think all fundamentals are definitely there, which is why I think there is potential for immediate improvement », says Sauber’s technical director.

« But we are certainly missing something for some of the big things. Future investments will fill these gaps thanks to more modern and larger facilities. In addition, investments are being made in the existing facilities that we already have and that are good. But there is still a lot of work to do, for example in terms of technology. I think all these things are going to mean a direct increase in performance from where we are now. Yes, we have a lot of catching up to do. But the fact of already being in these 1.5% and knowing that there is still a lot of work to do is a good indicator, in my opinion », concludes James Key.

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