Bottas: The result was a great reward for the whole team

In Qatar, both Alfa Romeo drivers finished in the top ten for the first time this season – Valtteri Bottas took 8th place, Guanyu Zhou – 9th, allowing the team to rise to 8th place in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of Haas F1.

Valtteri Bottas (8th): “Today went great for us and I am very pleased with the result the team achieved. The conditions in which the race took place were very extreme and the heat and humidity made it difficult, but we knew we could do well and that we had the potential. And we achieved this thanks to good tactics and correct actions during the race.

This result was an excellent reward for the entire team, both the racing crew and everyone who has worked hard at the Hinwil base in recent weeks to develop technical innovations. We will try to continue to get the most out of the car and that gives us optimism for the remaining races.

The points we earned today have improved our position in the Constructors’ Championship, with the team moving up to 8th place and we will continue to work hard to meet the challenges that await us this season.”

Guanyu Zhou (9th): “It was a great race, because after starting from the last row I managed to reach the top ten. We had good tactics, we controlled the tire wear and did not make a single mistake – all this allowed us to achieve this result.

We managed to show a high pace on the hard tyres, and in the last segment on the soft tyres, we were simply fantastically fast, allowing us to finish ahead of our rivals.

Closer to the closing stages of the race it was unclear who would receive what penalties, and it was great that we eventually moved up to 9th place. The race was difficult; along the way it was necessary to overtake and sometimes defend strongly. It was also important to respect the limits of the circuit, but we did it.

I was very tired, I had never ridden in such conditions before, but in the end everyone was rewarded after a very difficult period. But we never gave up, even when it was hard, and today, when it really mattered, we were able to put everything together.”