Current Sauber drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, will leave the team after the season ends, with Nico Hulkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto set to take their places.

Despite these changes, the team is still focused on trying to get from the last position in the Constructors’ Championship, where they sit with zero points, before the season ends.

Sauber had hoped that their new car upgrades, including a new floor and diffuser, would help improve performance. However, Bottas’ ambitions of scoring his first points of 2024 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix have been knocked back after he was hit with a five-place grid penalty.

The penalty comes because Sauber exceeded the limit for power unit components by adding a fourth energy store to Bottas’ car. Drivers are allowed only two energy stores per season, and this breach of the FIA rules makes Bottas the only driver so far with a grid drop for this race.

While other drivers, like Sergio Perez and Alex Albon, have also made changes to their cars, they are not facing penalties since they are still within the allowed number of parts. Bottas, however, remains the only driver affected by this rule breach.