Alfa Romeo made an ambiguous impression in tests: on the one hand, Guanyu Zhou showed the best time on Friday, which already speaks of the speed capabilities of the C43 car, on the other hand, because of the Swiss team, work on the track interrupted twice by red flags.
At the end of the second day of testing, Alfa Romeo’s car froze as it exited the pit lane, somewhat clouding the impression of the Chinese racer’s result on Friday. Then on Saturday, Valtteri Bottas pulled over to the side of the track due to power plant problems, which is also a wake-up call.
In the best lap standings, however, the Finn was on the third line and the team is far from last in terms of kilometers covered. So in theory we can expect the team to at least repeat the success that came with last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix when both drivers earned points this weekend.
But if one of them finishes in the top five, it can almost be considered a sensation, even if that was precisely Valtteri’s result in Imola. In any case, according to the results of the tests, both drivers really appreciate the team’s progress and love the new car. Overall, Alfa Romeo should cement its reputation as a strong midfielder, and if it manages to get ahead of the likes of McLaren and/or Alpine in the first races of the season, that’s a bonus.
“The last day of testing is behind us and we will start racing very soon,” a satisfied Valtteri said in a video message to fans last night. – In my opinion, we were able to complete all points of the test program, having done everything planned in three days.
Of course I’m ready for the start of the season – I hope you are too! Our team as a whole is well prepared, the car is making a good impression, but I suggest waiting another week and then it will become clear what positions we take.”
Incidentally, Valtteri is not only preparing for the first leg of the season, but has already made plans for the longer term: during the days of the Australian race weekend in Albert Park, a private guest area called the Oath Lounge will be hosted, where the Finn and his girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell are treated to signature gin, which Valtteri produces in Finland, and cocktails based on it.
However, this pleasure is not cheap: you have to pay 4077 Australian dollars for a ticket there, but for three days you can not only watch the events on the track, enjoying the comfort of the all-inclusive principle, but also communicate a little bit with Valtteri and of course with him in the picture.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
