Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu will start Saturday’s Las Vegas GP from P13, after an unexpectedly strong performance during Friday’s late-night qualifying session.
While speaking with the media after Friday’s late-night qualifying session, the Sauber driver described his performance as unexpected and stated that the team had made “good progress” to achieve his P13 start despite the close lap times set by the drivers.
“Yeah, not expecting that obviously.
“Yeah, let’s be realistic. I think the best we could [do] today was just on the edge of Q2. I think, after the weekend, we showed and [are] happy in a way that we were like two-tenths with our slipstream on the back straight.
“So yeah, good progress.”
“A difficult qualifying season”
Zhou’s start from P13 on Saturday will be his second-highest starting position of the season, with his highest being P10 for the 2024 Chinese GP sprint. This will also be his highest start in a feature race this season, with him overtaking his previous record of P14 at the 2024 British GP.
The Chinese driver has suffered a disappointing season, often failing to make it out of Q1.
While speaking afterwards, he acknowledged that his qualifying performances had been “difficult” and added that it was “good” that the new package installed on the C44 seemed to be working well.
“On my side, it’s been such a difficult qualifying season in general.
“It’s good that the new package somehow works a little bit towards what I wanted.”
Clean laps during Las Vegas GP qualifying session
When asked where he had been able to make up his lap times, Zhou stated that he had been strong from the beginning. While he noted that things had been “intense” on track due to issues with the C44 and the low temperatures, he said he had felt “good” about his car’s overall performance. His comfort with the C44 had encouraged him to push the car and allowed him to put in the clean laps that earned him his relatively high starting position.
“I mean, first lap, I think we were strong straight away.
“It’s very intense out there today. Braking, the car is always moving, locking up… and then you have to get a clean lap with all the low temperatures.”
“It’s not tricky but all the laps were clean so I’m happy with that.
“And I guess for myself, it’s just been a relief of the weekend in general, starting from the off. So yeah, I just feel better and obviously, it works.”
“A step in the right direction”
Despite his good performance during qualifying, Zhou stated that he did not want to set too high expectations for Saturday’s race.
However, he acknowledged that he did have the potential to fight for points, noting that the Hinwil-based team had shown a competitive pace.
“I mean, I don’t want to put myself in too much of a high expectation.
“But I think, with the weekend, we showed also the pace [so] we definitely can have a shot. Because, in the past, we normally are a bit better on high fuel than low fuel.”
He described his performance as a “step in the right direction” and stated that the team would focus on implementing a strong strategy to capitalise on opportunities to make up places in the race.
The 25-year-old added that “everything can still happen” during Saturday’s race.
“So hopefully, that’s a step in the right direction.
“We can definitely fight for points.
“I think, if you start P13 in Vegas, everything can still happen because it’s easy to… something could happen in the race for everyone.
“So yeah, let’s focus on doing the best strategy and everything.”
Las Vegas GP “a relatively smoother weekend”
The Sauber driver stated that the Las Vegas GP race weekend has been “relatively smoother” than previous weekends, due to the installation of an improved package on his C44.
He explained that he had struggled with balance while using the older specifications and that the new package had set things in a “better direction.”
“Yeah, like for me this weekend, it’s been a relatively smoother weekend.
“Yesterday I was doing an old package and I had it in the last session, in [FP2]. But then the balance was not really working because it was a big difference of the change.
“So today we work[ed] on that and the qualifying we get it working right. And things are working in a better direction, I guess.”
He added that the improved specifications had allowed him to show more of his abilities on track, and thanked the team for bringing the updated package as it put him in a better position for the race.
“For me, I think coming into this weekend, finally having the same spec and everything, I was able to show a little bit more. And also, I think thanks for bringing this package.
“And it’s good to see that step improving because some races when we brought some packages, it’s like a tenth.
“Clearly this weekend it’s a little bit more than that which put us in a better position.”
Tyre prep another important factor for Las Vegas GP
When asked if the upgrades to the C44 were the only contributor to the car’s improved performance, Zhou acknowledged that tyre preparation had also played a role, echoing statements by other drivers, including Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
“Obviously tyre prep and that kind of thing is huge here.”
However, the Chinese driver denied that his performance was more associated with any tyre preparation than with the upgrades.
He stated that he had been struggling to maintain the temperature of the tyres throughout the weekend.
He explained that during the practice sessions, he had typically been unable to get his tyres to a suitable temperature until the last laps, but added that he had had the opposite problem during qualifying.
“Yeah, for me, I think this whole weekend we’ve been really struggling with getting the tyre into temperature. And we always seem to find a lap in that very last lap.
“But [in the] qualifying actually, it was the opposite. The first lap in the last stint was better than the second lap.”
The Sauber driver stated that he hoped that the tyres’ performance in the race would be similar to that during qualifying.
He claimed that if the tyres did not work as desired, especially after pit stops, he expected his lap times to be significantly affected.
“So it gives me the hope that one of the weaknesses [that] we always suffered this weekend is kind of [going] in the right direction.
“So hopefully, it will be similar in the race because that’s important. I think, when you pit, if your tyres don’t work, I think you will just lose a lot of temperature and lap time.”
“A mix of feelings”
The Chinese driver, who will be without an F1 seat for the 2025 season following Sauber’s decision to replace both him and his teammate Valtteri Bottas with Nico Hülkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, stated that he was experiencing a “mix of feelings” over his qualifying result.
“Yeah, it’s a mix of feelings, you know. Motivation, relief, everything coming to this weekend.”
However, he added that he did not want to focus on his future within the sport, and was instead committed to enjoying his remaining races as much as possible.
“Not to overthink anything else and just not be worried about what’s happening in the future.
“And you know, just wanted to finish this chapter [on] a high with all the people around me. And yeah, trying to give it [my] all.
“So I just wanted to enjoy it as much as I could.”
He claimed that his qualifying performance had been “the best kind of way” to finish the day, and stated that he would be focusing on the race moving forward.
“And obviously, today is the best kind of way to finish the qualifying. And let’s focus on the race moving forward.”
If Zhou can score points during Saturday’s Las Vegas GP race, as he hopes to do, these will be both his and Sauber’s first points since the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
