Valtteri Bottas has admitted that picking a highlight from the 2023 F1 season is difficult.

The Finn recorded a best result of eighth in Bahrain and Qatar in a year that saw his Swiss squad fall to ninth in the constructors’ championship.

That coincided with Bottas’ own worst single-season performance since his debut year with Williams in 2013 as he slumped to 15th in the drivers’ standings with just 10 points.

“Qatar, all I can remember is that it was hot. I don’t even know where I finished,” he said when asked if that event stood out as a high point of the year.

“So highlights, I mean, I think sadly I would say that the very first race of the season, we had a solid weekend, scored immediately, everything was looking quite good.

“But then it’s been a tough ride. There’s been a few occasions we have scored, but not enough times.

“I’m definitely waiting for more highlights next year with a new car.”

While there was little to write home about in 2023 for Sauber, Bottas argues there wasn’t much wrong with the C43.

“In this sport, with the margins we have, it’s everything,” he suggested on where the car needs to improve for 2024.

“There’s nothing fundamental but the good thing is we do have a completely new car with some new ideas with new people in the team.

“That’s exactly what we need now,” he added.

“We need to make big steps over the winter. That’s the key.”

Sauber has dropped the Alfa Romeo branding from its name for 2024 ahead of becoming the Audi works team for 2026.

The period ahead of that change is one of transition and growth for the operation which first entered F1 in 1993.

It has signed ex-McLaren designer James Key, while there have been a host of other arrivals behind the scenes.

Audi has reaffirmed its commitment to the sport too, amid speculation it was considering walking away.

Rumours of Audi’s exit appear to have been linked to a change in senior management at the German automaker.

However, new boss Gernot Dollner told Handelsblatt, “There is a clear decision from the board, from the supervisory boards of Audi and Volkswagen, that Audi will enter Formula 1 in 2026.”

The suggestion was that Toyota would pick up the team’s running, returning to F1 for the first time since its withdrawal at the end of 2009.

It was claimed McLaren’s signing of Ryo Hirakawa was a sign of more to come from the Japanese manufacturer, and that it would also step up to supply the Woking team with power units alongside running its own operation.

That has proved well wide of the mark, with McLaren extending its relationship with Mercedes in a deal that gives it greater input into the development of the power unit.