Bottas: Sauber project 'falling into place' despite poor 2023

Valtteri Bottas is optimistic that the Sauber project he signed upfor is starting to "fall into place" despite a poor 2023 season.After claiming sixth in the 2022 season, helped by the fact thatthe new ground effects car was considerably lighter than its rivalsat the beginning of the year, Alfa Romeo slipped back in 2023, toninth with just 16 points on the board for Bottas and team-mateZhou Guanyu. Alfa Romeo has departed after its title sponsorshipended after the 2023 season, with Sauber preparing to launch itsnew team name on New Year's Day 2024 after hinting that thepreviously announced Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber name would change.Bottas is in the final year of his three-year deal with the team,as preparations gear up for the arrival of Audi in 2026 - and theFinn is pleased by what he is seeing. "We're not way behind, butwe're behind compared to some other teams," Bottas explained tomedia including RacingNews365. "The fact is that some teams do havemore people, and have more budget for different things, so there isstill work to do on that side. "But I am seeing progress. The teamis hiring all new people all the time and things are starting tofall into place, but it has definitely taken some time. "ObviouslyI signed up for this project for three years, and we definitelyneed to see progress. "I am expecting that and it is what I amworking towards. "It is going to be interesting early next year,and I'm definitely hoping for more performance and obviously,eventually, my future comes to be discussion then."