Valtteri Bottas’ sixth place in qualifying was a bit of a surprise, but the fact that the Finn was able to carry his position to the finish line on Sunday was also good news for his Alfa Romeo team.
After three very difficult years, the former Sauber racing team was finally able to find its way back into the top 10.
“To finish in the points with both cars in the first race is the perfect start to the season,” team manager Frederic Vasseur is happy about the double point result. Rookie Guanyu Zhou was also able to celebrate his first point in tenth place in his very first race.
What pleases Vasseur above all: Alfa Romeo was able to work its way back up the field after a bad start. Because despite sixth place on the grid, Bottas only finished the first lap in 14th place. “In a way it’s an even more promising sign because we’ve made a comeback, which means our car is really competitive,” said Vasseur.
50 percent of all starts go wrong
Incidentally, according to Bottas, the bad start was caused by spinning tires – something the team urgently needs to work on. “I wasn’t so confident on the way to the starting grid because 50 percent of our starting practice was bad,” says the Finn.
“I just had wheelspin and overheated the rear tires because the wheels were still spinning in third gear,” he says. Because although he had only lost a few positions after the bad start in Turn 1, he added a few more as the lap progressed. “I just slipped and was an easy victim,” says Bottas.
The problem is of a mechanical nature and occurs 50 percent at the start, as he explains. “Sometimes we have these vibrations in the clutch. And when that happens, it’s pretty easy to lose traction. We have to work on that.”
Haas a little faster
Nevertheless, Bottas was still able to move up to sixth place. Under his own steam, he was eighth when the safety car came in shortly before the end and the two Red Bulls were still out. “If someone had told us that we would finish sixth in qualifying or in the race, then we would definitely have taken it,” says the Finn.
“Having both cars in the top 10 is a lot better than what the team has been used to in recent years.” Does Alfa Romeo now have to revise its targets upwards? “We have to go with Fred [Vasseur] talk,” says Bottas. “Maybe. We have to raise the bar because we have to make sure we don’t fall behind.”
In the first race, he identified Haas as his main competitor, who in the form of Kevin Magnussen was even one place better and, according to Bottas, is currently even faster. “I think if Kevin hadn’t had that problem yesterday I wouldn’t have been able to match his time. And they were very strong in the race today.”
“Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are still a bit further away, but at least we’re almost the best of the rest,” says Bottas happily. “It’s not a bad starting position.”