The Singapore race was unsuccessful for Alfa Romeo: Guanyu Zhou finished twelfth after starting from the pit lane, and his teammate Valtteri Bottas retired on lap 51 due to mechanical problems with the car, which could lead to overheating.
Guanyu Zhou (12th): “We knew we had to be aggressive to get back, so the team decided to pit on the second lap and switch to hard tires in the hope that this would pay off later in the race when the safety car came out. The risk almost paid off: the safety car came out, but unfortunately too early. His appearance proved ideal for those who started on Medium, and we fell back.
At the end, during the virtual safety car, we decided not to stop to switch to Soft in the hope that the race would be suspended again by the safety car, but this did not happen and I was overtaken by rivals on newer tires.
We knew it would be difficult to score points, especially with two Red Bull drivers starting behind us, but our pace was encouraging. We were fighting for positions in the top ten and we would have had a chance if the race conditions had been different. The team can be satisfied with the progress shown. I feel like we were more competitive today. The track has always been difficult for us, but I think we will take a few more steps forward in the next races.”
Valtteri Bottas (retreat): “We knew we would have to take risks today, given the starting position and the expected race pace. The timing of the safety car’s departure worked against us: it left too early, so I couldn’t switch to Medium tires and drive to the finish of the race.
I didn’t make much progress and then had to stop altogether due to technical issues. As a precaution, I stopped the car, but the reason is yet to be determined.
Today wasn’t our day, but at least we learned a lot about how new products work. We expect them to help us more at Suzuka, so we will study all the information collected to optimize the car. There’s a race coming up at my favorite track, so I’m looking forward to it.”
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.
