Comunicato STELLANTIS
Spa-Francorchamps, 27 August 2022 – Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN put up a good display of teamwork in qualifying for tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix. Zhou Guanyu claimed a spot in Q2 with a strong lap, assisted by a tow by Valtteri Bottas, who was assured of a P14 start due to a penalty; in the subsequent session, Zhou qualified in P13, although he is expected to be starting in 19th place due to a penalty.
Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal: “Today’s qualifying was a bit unusual, with so many penalties affecting tomorrow’s grid, but we did a good job as a team and we set ourselves up in a good position for tomorrow. We knew from this morning that Valtteri would start 14th no matter where he qualified, so we focused on teamwork and maximising our result: Valtteri gave a strong tow to Zhou, who made it to Q2 easily and was then able to set the 13th best time. He, too, has a penalty, so he will start 19th. Still, the car looks good and we’ll be ready to fight our way through the field with both cars. Our aim remains a top-ten finish: tomorrow’s race should be quite exciting and there shouldn’t be a shortage of opportunities to take – we’ll need to be ready to make the most of them.”
Valtteri Bottas (car number 77):
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42 (Chassis 01/Ferrari)
FP3: 15th / 1:46.881 (20 laps)
Q1: 20th / 1:47.866 (5 laps)
“We knew I’d be starting in P14, no matter what, so I was able to take one for the team and go out to give my teammate the tow. He was still fighting for a grid place, so it made sense to help him and it seemed to work. As we knew qualifying would have no meaning for us, we put all our focus on the race; I hope our preparations will pay off: so far I can say that the car felt ok in race trim. Of course, we didn’t really see its full potential today, given the circumstances, but I’m confident we can come back from 14th and score some points.”
Zhou Guanyu (car number 24):
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)
FP3: 19th / 1:47.089 (20 laps)
Q1: 1:46.178 (6 laps)
Q2: 13th / 1:46.085 (6 laps)
“I think we can be happy with where we are, also taking into consideration how we did this morning: I even think something more was possible, as I did a few small mistakes in the last flying lap and had a massive lock-up in turn one. It was tricky out there, we struggled a bit with the cooler weather conditions and with the balance, but we gave everything we had. Valtteri gave me his slipstream, it was not planned but it was nice of him as it helped me getting into Q2. Overall, I am quite satisfied with how we did today, although obviously I am starting from the back tomorrow due to penalties. Everything could happen on this track, so hopefully we can put up a good performance and gain some positions to get back into the points.”
