Valtteri Bottas “satisfied” with running at Bahrain testing, noting improvements in car since last year

Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake’s Valtteri Bottas has already noticed improvements compared to last year’s car during pre-season testing at Bahrain International Circuit, where the team were able to gather knowledge and prepare their C43 ahead of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Bottas was able to complete seventy-one laps on the opening day of testing, taking the driver’s seat of C43 for the afternoon session. He slotted into twelfth on the timesheets with a 1:34.558. He was pleased to be able to complete his entire testing schedule, which was important in setting the basis for the rest of the weekend.  

“Our running has been good today, we got through the whole program, which was our objective for today. Getting good mileage on the first day of testing is the most important thing, and we were able to learn more about the car, find out the first indications on which setups work, how the new tyres feel and all of that. 

“Overall, it’s been a good Day One; there is still work to do, of course, but it has been a good start and I can already feel some improvements from last year.”

Saturday saw Bottas in the car for both sessions, completing a total of 131 laps and clocking a fastest lap of 1:30.827. With this time, he ended the day in an encouraging third place. 

Bottas said that the team faced a minor problem with the car on Saturday, but were able to overcome it quickly and still complete the entirety of their programme. With testing in the rearview, Bottas feels confident in the car and happy with the progress made since last year.

“Overall, I am pretty satisfied with how these testing days have gone; the car felt good, and I reckon the feeling in the cockpit improved over the winter. We got plenty of laps in today, despite a technical issue which cost us some time. 

“Thanks to the work of our mechanics, I was able to return to the track rather quickly and complete the whole programme we had set for ourselves for this final day: I am grateful for their effort, as well as for that of everyone back at the factory in Hinwil. I am looking forward to getting back on track in a week and finally get that racing feeling again.”