Despite some major challenges the Alfa Romeo team endured under the poor weather conditions on the first day of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, both drivers managed to end the day with a constructive result.

FP1 proved to be a difficult session for the two drivers with Valtteri Bottas going the 12th fastest while F1 newcomer Zhou Guanyu ended his first practice at the Imola track in 19th position. However, Bottas and Guanyu were able to improve on their disappointing practice results in the qualifying session ahead of the first sprint race of the season. The Finnish driver set the eighth fastest time in Q3 and teammate Guanyu finished in P14.  

Bottas experienced a solid qualifying session in Q1 and Q2. However, his Q3 session ended prematurely when he encountered technical issues. The Finn was forced to stop on the side of the track causing the fifth red flag of the session that ultimately put an end to qualifying. 

After qualifying, Bottas remained optimistic while disclosing that the team is still looking into the technical issue that caused his C42 to break down in Q3.       

“It was a really strong session for us until we had to stop the car for a technical issue. We are still investigating what it is, hopefully it is nothing serious and we can fix it quickly. It’s a bit of a shame as we had the potential to be higher than eighth, but it’s not a disaster on a sprint weekend: we are in a decent place to fight tomorrow and we can aim to make up some more places ahead of the race on Sunday,” Bottas said.

Guanyu expressed overall satisfaction with his P14 qualifying result although he suffered a measure of bad luck with the rain and red flag that prevented him from setting another time and advancing into Q3. 

“I am pleased about our work today: to get through Q1 in the top five was already good, especially considering the little practice I could do in these conditions with just one session before qualifying. The chance to get into Q3 was there, but I struggled a bit with the tyre warmup in my first Q2 run and, with the red flag and the rain coming afterwards, never got a chance to do another,” Guanyu stated.

“Despite these circumstances, I am very happy to be in Q2 again. We are normally stronger in race trim, so I hope we can move up as a team in tomorrow’s sprint. If the track is dry, we stand a good chance, although you can never know how the weather will be like here. I am ready for whatever conditions there will be: we did well so far and hopefully we can carry on this momentum into tomorrow.”

Team Principal at Alfa Romeo, Frédéric Vasseur focused on how the team’s goals were fulfilled for both drivers during the qualifying session. The Frenchman also disclosed how securing points on Saturday and Sunday is the ultimate aim of the race weekend for the Switzerland-based team.       

“Our objective before the session was to have at least one car in Q2 and one in Q3, and in this regard, we accomplished it. Both drivers felt at ease in the car despite the tricky conditions and did well in the circumstances: Zhou was impressive in Q1 but the timing of the red flag in Q2 penalised him and he couldn’t improve when a spot in the top ten was realistic”  Vasseur said. 

“Valtteri made it to Q3 and was looking good for a place in the top six, but unfortunately a technical issue we are investigating stopped him: still, P8 is a really good position and, with Zhou in P14, we can aim to claim some points on Saturday and some really good positions for Sunday’s grid.”