On Friday, three Alfa Romeo drivers worked at the Paul Ricard circuit – Guanyu Zhou, Valtteri Bottas and Robert Kubica, who replaced the Finn in the first practice. The team is preparing for a difficult qualifying, but they expect to succeed.
Valtteri Bottas (12th): “In the second practice I got back behind the wheel, so it took a few laps to find the rhythm, but I was comfortable in the car from the start.
The battle in the middle group is tougher than usual, but I feel like both our machine and myself are capable of more. I’m looking forward to qualifying – I think we have a good chance to do well.”
Guanyu Zhou (17th): Quite a quiet day – we went through the whole program and avoided any problems. The weather is very hot – in such conditions it is very difficult to monitor the condition of the tires, but everyone is on an equal footing, so finding the optimal car settings is key.
The first practice went really well and I was very comfortable behind the wheel. In the second session we tried different options on two machines, which caused me some problems. However, I think the direction we need to take tomorrow is clear and I’m looking forward to qualifying.
When we talk about the speed of the car on Friday, I think we look stronger than in Austria. This is a good sign, but we are again waiting for a very tight fight in the middle group, in which a lot will depend on tires. In qualifying it’s important to put together fast laps and avoid getting stuck in traffic.
Saturday and Sunday will be tough given the heat, but I’m looking forward to fighting.”
Robert Kubica (19th in the first session): “I had an intense session – there was a lot to do in 60 minutes – of collecting information about the work of aerodynamics at the start of the session, then a series of laps throughout the hour .
The weather was warm – not the easiest of conditions to work in, but it’s always great to drive a Formula 1 car and help the team with the settings.
The feel of the car was very different from my previous experiences. Maybe it has to do with the heat. It will be interesting to study the telemetry with the engineers to better understand the root cause and improve the car over the remaining days of the weekend.”
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
