Valtteri Bottas Feeling “optimistic” Following “really good qualifying”

Valtteri Bottas appeared to drive Saturday like he was still part of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, after not only making it into Qualifying Three but splitting the two Scuderia Ferrari‘s.

It meant that the Finn was unbelievably the second Ferrari-powered driver on the grid, with there being no reason why he can’t do it again on Sunday at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Incredibly, Bottas was on the brink of beating Carlos Sainz Jr for fifth, highlighting just how well the former-Mercedes driver is performing this weekend.

Bottas explained that the reason for the strong pace was that the car has been “good from the get-go”, with only small tweaks having been made to the set-up.

“We had a really good qualifying, on top of a weekend in which we have consistently been in the top ten. It’s a good result ahead of tomorrow and I’m personally pleased with having delivered the best lap of the whole weekend when it mattered, at the end of Q3. The car was good from the get-go, all we needed was to refine the setup to extract even more performance; the track layout did help, with slow-speed corners that really work well for us.

“I’m optimistic for tomorrow: we need points for our battle in the championship and we’re in an excellent position to have a good fight. It’s F1, so everything can happen, but we’re up there and that’s what matters today.”

“I feel I did the best I could” – Zhou Guanyu

Zhou Guanyu also enjoyed a solid qualifying, given the fact that it is his first visit to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The Chinese driver narrowly missed out on the top ten but will start Sunday’s race from twelfth, giving him a good shot at a points finish.

The rookie has actually struggled during the weekend and was glad to just have a “trouble-free session”, with a number of drivers having had issues across the weekend. Some have really struggled to find grip around the track in Mexico City, something which has made the opening sector difficult for Zhou.

Nevertheless, the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN driver is looking forward to Sunday and is hoping to be “fighting for points”.

“In terms of today’s qualifying, I feel I did the best I could: in the end, I was very close to getting into Q3 again, being just two tenths off. I struggled the whole weekend so far and it hasn’t been easy to have a smooth, trouble-free session, especially on a track that is not among the easiest ones to drive.

“Sector one has been the toughest one for me to face today, so to get this close to Q3 with my final lap was a positive: I tried and eventually I didn’t make it, but at least this time I feel there was nothing left out there. It’s great to see Valtteri being so fast today, and overall, the progress both cars have been making. The gap for the top ten is quite close, and I think we will be in a good position for fighting for points tomorrow, so let’s see how it goes.”