Alfa Romeo managed to stay ahead of Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship, thanks in part to points earned by Valtteri Bottas in Mexico and Brazil, which not only satisfied the team, but also enabled it to receive around $10 million more in prize money . However, the season was uneven for her, meaning there is a lot of work to be done in preparation for 2023.
“The season started well in terms of results, although that could not be said about reliability. Nevertheless, we performed well in the first races, while the rivals faced more serious problems, Valtteri told Finnish newspaper Iltalehti in an interview. – In the first nine races I earned points seven times, but in the next ten Grands Prix we couldn’t finish in the top ten and it was a difficult period.
We were plagued with reliability issues and the speed of the car left something to be desired. But the problems started during the winter tests, so we drove fewer kilometers than other teams. In addition, we simply did not notice many problems then and already had to deal with their elimination during the season.
Significant resources had to be spent correcting the reliability situation, which slowed down the pace of car modernization and we began to lag behind our rivals.
Fortunately, many technical problems were solved and at the end of the season in Hinwil they were able to prepare some new products that allowed them to improve. As a result, Bottas took 10th place in Mexico, finished 9th in Brazil and Alfa Romeo was able to remain in 6th place in the team standings. Of the 55 points earned in 2022, Valtteri won 39.
“Even before the start of the season we had set ourselves the target of finishing 6th in the constructors’ championship, so we can be satisfied in that respect. But the team should strive for more, says the Finn. “The development of the car for 2023 started a long time ago and a very separate team of specialists is working on it in Hinwil.
During my communication with the team, there are occasional situations where I explain how work is done at Mercedes. Alfa Romeo expects me to share this kind of information, and we will generally be smarter when we start testing the new car in February in pre-season testing.
As far as I know, the wind tunnel studies and the data obtained during work on the simulator give cause for optimism, but in winter tests you need to drive as many kilometers as possible. Now the team needs to be bolder in setting higher goals. In 2023 you cannot simply expect to repeat last year’s results.”
Source: F1 News
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