It’s been a growth year for Formula 1 in 2022, the sport has made its debut sweeping changes to its cars To bring the race closer, yes one W twice neworld CHanoi in town and Valtteri Bottas left the dominant Mercedes F1 team to join the Alfa Romeo midfield team.
“So far, it’s been really exciting,” said the new Alfa Romeo driver when we talk before the US Grand Prix this weekend in Austin, Texas.
With his new team, Bottas went from fighting to win the race with his former teammate Lewis Hamilton to becoming the elder statesman in a team wants to play a long game and climb the pecking order.
Bottas said: “The start of the new year was a bit better than we expected, we kept scoring good points.
“But since this is a project where we aim for long-term profits, not overnight gains, it was a bit surprising. Since then, things have been a bit challenging, I think given the challenges that we face, like reliability, etc, once we get over those challenges, that helps. useful to us in the future.
“And I think for next year’s car, we’ve learned a lot that we can do better from this year.”
‘Old Guy’ at Alfa Romeo
At the Italian team, Partner of Bottas 2022 rookie Zhou Guanyu. After years of racing alongside more experienced teammates like Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, Bottas now finds himself the older mentor at Alfa Romeo.
“I enjoyed it,” he said, in an interview conducted by Alfa Romeo sponsors Hyland. “It’s also a different kind of role in the team – being a more experienced driver, having a little more say in things is really fun.”
Up to present this year, Bottas and Zhou helped Alfa Romeo ranked sixth in the list of builders. The team has 52 points from 18 races, but Bottas has proven to be a breadwinner in the family and has scored 46 points on the team so far. pull.
Fin also so far, overtakes his much younger teammate by 12 times in 2022. But, his role in the Italian team is to set an example for his young team-mate.
He said: “I can relate very well to my teammates, having a first year in F1 with a lot of pressure and having to prove that you belong in F1. It’s not easy and you want to learn and improve as quickly as possible. You want to question your teammate, and that’s what he’s been doing. He has learned a lot, has been really consistent and we have seen his good progress.
“And for me, there will always be a time when I become the old man on the team. So I got it, and it was fun. I like it.”
As the “old man” at Alfa Romeo, Bottas is seen as a leader when it comes to the grid. It’s a new role for him, after nine years alongside experienced teammates. However, he said it was “really natural” to step on the plate.
And, he says he’s seen similarities between his relationship with Zhou and the partnerships he’s formed with experienced drivers like Pastor Maldonado and Felipe Massa in his early days at Williams.
“I remember how much I could learn early in my career from more experienced drivers,” he said. “It feels like yesterday, so I can definitely make contact.”
Last upgrade of the year
Now, with just four races left in the 2022 season, Bottas said attention in Alfa Romeo has turned to the 2023 campaign, as the team hopes to learn from its struggles this year. As a result, the team is bringing one final update to this weekend’s race in Austin.
Bottas explains: “Back at the factory, development moved to the next year quite a while ago.
“We still have new upgrades due to how long the parts take to make, but they’ve been around for a while. This week, we’re getting the last of the year upgrades. But in terms of wind tunnel hours and everything, everything has been focused on next year for a long time.”
Development of next year’s car will focus on overcoming the weaknesses the team has had in 2022. Essentially, next year’s Alfa Romeo will be “a new car”, according to Bottas, who adds that the team is “trying to make it faster and more reliable. “
