Guanyu Zhou: It wasn’t the best weekend

In Suzuka, the Alfa Romeo team was unlucky not to earn any points again, mainly because the drivers unknowingly became involved in several incidents.

Guanyu Zhou (13th): “Actually I started very well, trying to move forward and regain positions. But then I saw four cars in front of me collide, and a fairly large piece of carbon fiber hit my front fender and got stuck in it.

This forced me to slow down on the first lap and not take any risks to avoid crashing the car, which then affected the rest of the race. But then the pace picked up and I think I was faster than AlphaTauri. While it looks like they are doing well with their speed this weekend, they have definitely made progress.

It is difficult to say how effectively the new products work; it depends on the specific track. I made a mistake in qualifying when I attacked the curb, plus I got into traffic, so I started from the last row, and this already caused problems. Nevertheless, I believe that in terms of pace we are already closer to the level we should be at, i.e. with the car you can fight for positions from tenth to fifteenth.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t the best weekend, but we are now returning to our base in Europe to get some rest after two races in a row with a week in between, and then we will have to work hard to prepare for the final stage of the season.”

Valtteri Bottas (meeting): “My race was very short, but eventful. I got off to a good start, but going into Turn 1 I found myself between two cars. The right one started moving towards me, leaving no room on the court.

There was a collision and my right front tire was flat. We immediately made a pit stop, where we also changed the nose cone.

Then, immediately after the restart, I tried to pass Sargent on the outside, leaving him plenty of space. Unfortunately he locked the brakes and threw me off the track.

We had to go to the pits again to check the condition of the car, but it became impossible to continue the race, although we even tried. Apparently the suspension was damaged, which affected the handling. In addition, the side pontoon suffered a leak.

Overall, it’s a shame that today everything didn’t go as it should have, because I believe the car’s potential allowed it to perform well. That is why it is now important to rebuild to be well prepared for the stage in Doha, which awaits us in two weeks, and for the remaining races of the season.”