Valtteri Bottas: “Hopefully we can make a step forward from the last few races”

Valtteri Bottas is looking to get Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN’s 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season back on track this weekend at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

The Finn has failed to score points in any of the past six Grand Prix, with his pointless run stretching back to the Canadian Grand Prix in June, where he finished seventh.

Bottas feels Monza is one of the more ‘iconic’ tracks on the Formula 1 calendar, and he enjoyed a positive 2021 event during his final year with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team where he won the Sprint Race and taking a podium in the main race despite starting at the back of the field following a grid penalty.

And the ten-time race winner hopes Alfa Romeo can make a step forward this weekend in Italy and challenge for the points on Sunday afternoon.

“I am looking forward to racing again after two unlucky weekends: of course, this weekend is a home race for the team and for our title partner, Alfa Romeo, which makes it even more special,” said Bottas.

“For a driver, Monza is one of the most iconic and unique tracks on the calendar, and I enjoyed racing here in the past: I have four podiums from Monza and this is one of the most impressive podiums you can hope to stand on!

“The atmosphere is incredible, and to have our colleagues on the stands makes it even more special. Hopefully we can make a step forward from the last few races and we can end the European leg of the season on a high.”

“I’ll just focus on doing the best possible job” – Zhou Guanyu

Team-mate Zhou Guanyu has also failed to score points since the Canadian Grand Prix, and this weekend will mark the final European race of his rookie season, a year that he feels has gone very quickly.

Zhou admits Alfa Romeo have not had the kind of pace needed to challenge for the points in the two races since the summer break, but he hopes for a turnaround in fortune this weekend at a venue where the Chinese driver had memorable moments at in junior formulae.

“It is the final race of the triple-header, as well as the final European race before we head overseas for the end of the season, and it feels like this year is going by in a flash,” said Zhou.  

“We have had a couple of races where we didn’t get to compete at the level we wanted, but this race is a new opportunity to regroup and work out on what we lacked last week in terms of pace and performance.

“It’s a big weekend for us and we want to do well in front of our home crowd: also, having been with Italian teams during my junior career, Monza holds a special meaning to me; when I stepped on the podium last year in F2 I could feel the passion and the endless energy of the fans.

“The Italian Grand Prix will be an important event, both for us as a team and for the Alfa Romeo brand, but when the sessions start, I’ll just focus on doing the best possible job and bringing home better results for the entire team. Sono pronto!”

Zhou Guanyu is aiming for points in Italy this weekend – Credit: Germain Hazard / DPPI