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The 2024 season is very important for Stake F1 Sauber. While the name is going to put some off, it's important to note that this is merely a transitional phase for the squad that is going to become Audi.
The team does not have much momentum as it heads into the 2024 season, which is surprising after it kick-started the regulations brilliantly in 2022. Back then, the car was one of the rare examples of machinery that was not overweight and hence had free laptime that it could benefit from.
However, rivals began catching up midway through the 2022 season and by 2023, the team became a backmarker.
Andreas Seidl has been one of the major additions and is considered to be the one to take the team forward when it becomes Audi. For now, though, his impact has been muted.
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As Stake F1 Sauber heads into the 2024 season, its performance is crucial and so is its improvement. As a result, the team is bound to have a set of pre-season targets in place already. Let's take a look at three such targets.
Top 3 pre-season targets for Stake F1 Sauber in the 2024
#1 Stop being an anonymous entity
Arguably the biggest criticism that the team has faced in the last couple of seasons has been a lack of relatability. Over a race weekend, it has been hard to identify the performances or even the results of Stake F1 Sauber (formerly known as Alfa Romeo).
There's nothing that stands out about the team. The team manager is quite unassuming and the drivers do not catch much attention on the track or off it either. As a result, there's nothing that catches the eye.
Almost every other team from Red Bull to Haas has some character and something that works as an identifier. The Stake F1 team doesn't and that ends up counting against it.
In 2024, the team needs to start changing this.
#2 Secure a much better driver line-up
Let's face it, Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou make arguably one of the more uninspiring driver lineups. One could argue that the team could do so much more with even Theo Pourchaire, who is sitting on the sidelines.
Stake F1 Sauber has Pourchaire as its reserve driver and many were shocked when he wasn't given a seat after winning the F2 title last season. This was amplified by the fact that Bottas and Guanyu don't inspire much confidence.
There are as many as 13 drivers that are on the market in 2024. It's about time Andreas Seidl displays his magic and begins turning things around.
#3 Aim for the midfield
In what might be a bit of a carry forward from the previous point about having better drivers, Stake F1 Sauber needs to make major improvements with it car.
If the car continues to dawdle around at the back of the grid, no driver would show any level of interest in signing with the team. This is despite the fact that the name "Audi" will soon be associated with it.
After finishing P9 last season, the Stake F1 Sauber team has to aim to get into the midfield fight this season if it has to lure the right drivers to the squad in the future.
