by VALERIO BARRETTA
F1 China, great Friday for Sauber
Beyond the poleman, who for the first time in 2024 was not Max Verstappen, the biggest surprise of the Sprint Qualifying comes from behind. In Shanghai the Kick Sauberin fact, he achieved a double SQ3, right on Guanyu's home circuit Zhou. The Chinese – tenth on the grid behind Valtteri Bottas – will hardly have the pace to grab the points zone, but he still wants to enjoy the 24 hours of glory and the satisfaction of having even ousted George Russell's Mercedes from SQ3.
Zhou's words
“It's great to be in SQ3“, commented the Chinese. “There was a lot of potential in the car but in the end, in the rain, we only had one lap to get the best possible result. I was just trying to close a lap, even though everyone was struggling a lot with grip. I'm happy with the day, with two cars in SQ3, the fans were sensational: I'm looking forward to the rest of the weekend. The points tomorrow will only be for the top eight, but we are proceeding step by step: today we have two cars in the top ten and tomorrow we will give our all. The guys we will be fighting for points will be strong, but We have a chance and we are ready to take it”.
Bottas' words
“Today was a fantastic day for the team, with both cars in the top ten: this is the way we want to start a race weekend. We experienced mixed conditions, something that is never easy, but it's reassuring to know that we would be up there regardless of the weather. I'm really happy for Zhou and the Chinese fans: entering SQ3 in my home race is special“added Bottas.
“Even though it is still quite difficult to evaluate everyone's race pace after FP1, especially with the evolution of the track conditions, tomorrow we will give our best. The team did a great job and, with the support of the Chinese fans, we want to fight for points in the Sprint”.
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