“It’s sad to bring my streak of 103 consecutive Q3’s to an end” – Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas’ incredible run of one-hundred-three, Qualifying Three appearances has come to a disappointing end with the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN driver qualifying twelfth at the Australian Grand Prix.

Bottas’ streak of qualifying three appearances dates back to 2017 but has unfortunately now come to an end. The Finnish driver did all he could to extend the streak but it was to no avail.

Bottas believes he got everything he could’ve done out of the C42, the Finnish driver even found it strange to be watching the final session on the TV!

“Our qualifying went pretty smoothly, and I feel we delivered some good laps: it felt I got everything out of the car and didn’t leave anything on the table, so it’s a disappointment not to be in Q3. We wanted to be in the top ten but we lacked a bit of one-lap pace: we took the decision to prioritise our setup for the race, with a smaller rear wing, so hopefully we can benefit from this decision tomorrow.

“The car felt good, we can see how fine the margins are in the midfield but I am confident we have a fast car, we have a car geared for overtaking and we have a good opportunity to score points. Of course, it’s sad to bring my streak of 103 consecutive Q3s to an end, but it’s good to know I had such a long run. It felt a bit weird watching the session on TV!”

“We struggled a bit with the balance” – Guanyu Zhou

Rookie Guanyu Zhou made yet another Qualifying Two performance, the Chinese driver will start from fourteenth place at Albert Park, an impressive performance for his first visit to the circuit.

Zhou reckons points are possible on Sunday, after believing he put in a good performance during qualifying. The rookie was one of a number of drivers though to complain about his cars balance around the circuit.

“I’m happy about my performance, all things considered. We struggled a bit with the balance in qualifying, but we cleared a very tight battle with our rivals in Q1 and we still got into a position that will allow us to fight for the points tomorrow.

“This track is not an easy one to learn so I am pleased my performance was good, now our focus has to be on making up ground and finishing in the top ten tomorrow. I think our setup will help us, and our car has been good in race trim this weekend. Turn one and the opening lap will be key to do a good job tomorrow, and I am looking forward to it.”