Comunicato STELLANTIS
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake executed a recovery race at the British Grand Prix, as both drivers climbed up the field, gaining ten positions overall and eventually finishing 12th and 15th, respectively. Starting from the back of the grid, Valtteri Bottas charged through the field in a flawless performance that saw him gaining eight positions on track, eventually ending just a couple of positions away from the top ten. Teammate, Zhou Guanyu, endured an unluckier Sunday, having his race compromised by a tear-off stuck in his brake duct which forced him to carry out an additional pit stop.
Coming home from a double header between Austria and Great Britain, the team will now head back to Hinwil, where the focus will be on regrouping and working on extracting that extra performance from the upgrades brought to Silverstone, in order to get back in the battle for points in the final two races before the summer break.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: “Today, we must pay tribute to our team and drivers for the job done, in a race that wasn’t set to be easy for us: overall, we have recovered ten positions, eight with Valtteri and two with Zhou, as proof that if we carry out a perfect race, we can get into the fight for points. Yesterday was not our day, and of course, starting from the back is never easy, but today we showed an improvement in the race pace compared to previous events, which gives us confidence for the next two races before the summer break. There, our target will be to further optimise our new package, in order to be competitive from Friday onwards and recover positions in the Constructors’ Championship. Valtteri did a solid race today, executing a flawless performance: starting from the back of the grid on hard tyres, which also required some management in the first laps. Zhou’s race has been more unfortunate: we had to pit him an extra time to remove a tear-off from his brake duct, which made him lose a position and eventually kept him from further progressing through the field. We come back from Silverstone aware that a step has been made in terms of performance through the upgrades we have brought, although the final positions haven’t reflected it. What we have learned from this weekend is that each and everyone of us needs to execute every race to the very best and that there is no room for mistakes. Moving forward, this will be our focus, in order to consistently remain in the fight for points.”
Valtteri Bottas (car number 77):
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake C43 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
Race result: 12th
Fastest lap: 1:31.852 (Lap 52)
Tyres: New Hard (32 Laps) – New Soft (20 Laps)
“I think, taking into consideration where we were starting from, we maximised everything we had today. The Virtual Safety Car and the Safety Car both came out in a favourable moment for us, allowing us to pit and save some time. Of course, it is never easy when starting P20, but we gave it all and got the best out of our package. The upgrades we brought here this weekend allowed us to make a slight step forward, but of course, there is still some work to do: other teams brought new parts as well, and their improvement has been evident. Over the few weeks before Budapest, all of our focus will go into unlocking their full potential, in order to come back in competitive form for the final two races before the summer break.”
Zhou Guanyu (car number 24):
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake C43 (Chassis 01/Ferrari)
Race result: 15th
Fastest lap: 1:31.769 (Lap 48)
Tyres: New Medium (24 Laps) – New Hard (9 Laps) – New Soft (19 Laps)
“Overall, I think this weekend just hasn’t been our lucky one. The Safety Car came out when I had already pitted, and that forced me to change again to avoid having to stay at the back on hard tyres. On top of that, unfortunately, I got a tear-off stuck in my brake duct, once again, and that pretty much compromised my race as we had to pass through the pits for the third time and get it removed. As per the upgrades we brought this weekend, I reckon there’s more work to be done: other teams brought important packages through, and that allowed them to make a good leap forward. I think the potential for us is there, but we definitely will need to work on the new aero package to properly obtain that extra performance we need to get back in the mix for points.”
