Valtteri Bottas is not satisfied with Alfa Romeo’s performance this season. We need to improve for next season.
Valtteri Bottas’ second year at Alfa Romeo has not been better than the previous one. Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake
Valtteri Bottas admits that this season has been a little disappointing.
The Finn, who moved to Alfa Romeo last season, fought for the points in almost every race last year. The 49 points collected by Bottas lifted the team nicely to the sixth place in the manufacturer’s series.
This year, the level of performance has not been at the same level. Bottas only scored twice in the opening half of the season. Alfa Romeo’s pace in relation to others has not even been close to last year’s level.
A new goal
Bottas has scored twice this season. Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake
Bottas admits that the situation is not ideal. No one on the team is jumping for joy right now.
– Before the start of the season, we set a goal of sixth place in the manufacturer’s series, but now it’s clear that it won’t happen.
Alfa Romeo is currently ninth in the manufacturer’s standings with nine points. Alpine, which is sixth, has 57 points.
There is a reworking of the plan ahead.
– Our new goal is to finish seventh in the final points. It’s a realistic goal, but we have to manage to use every opportunity offered to us, Bottas says.
Ahead of Alfa Romeo are Williams and Haas, who both have 11 points.
Extra points are tight when the top stables that stand out from the crowd get through without any problems.
Even the top poppook gets bumped sometimes. Then Alfa Romeo must be the stable that fixes the crumbs.
– The power relations between us and the teams fighting against us have varied as the season progressed, track by track. There aren’t many points available, but when there are, we have to strike, Bottas states.
Bangs for next year
Alfa Romeo has to strike when, for example, McLaren has problems. Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake
Although Alfa Romeo is now in the position of the chaser, the goal of seventh place is not sought at any cost.
F1 is a constant tightrope dance with short and long term improvements.
– There will still be some new parts for our car this season, but the development work is already quite strongly focused on next season. We have to maximize everything this season, but at the same time make sure we are even more competitive next season, Bottas states.
The pursuit of points continues this weekend in Zandvoort. Bottas is cautiously optimistic about the weekend even before the first lap.
– In the previous race in Budapest, where maximum downforce was used, our car was competitive. We can expect a similar level of performance here as well.