Valtteri Bottas was one of the stars of qualifying for the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, starting the race sixth alongside his former teammate Lewis Hamilton, something he feels is pretty cool.
The new era of Formula 1, coincided with a new era in the career of Valtteri Bottas, as he was dropped by Mercedes at the end of the 2021 season to be offered a team leader job at Alfa Romeo, something the Finn has already put to good use as he qualified his C42 in sixth place, with his former teammate Lewis Hamilton in the off-the-pace W13 just fifth and approximately three tenths faster.
“It’s pretty cool,” an elated Bottas said to the media after Saturday’s qualifying in Bahrain. “We’re starting side-by-side; it’s pretty cool.
“I saw him and we’re both smiling – it should be fun!” he added. “At the end of last year, if somebody told me that, in Bahrain, we’re gonna be starting side-by-side with Lewis, I’d take it!
Bottas will go and see Toto Wolff
Asked if he had spoken to his former boss at Mercedes, Toto Wolff, Bottas joked: “Not yet, I haven’t got my phone. But I’ll go and see him!”
But joking aside, the Alfa Romeo driver warned that the team should not take Saturday’s performance for granted and should keep pushing.
“But this is the beginning, it is the starting point for our journey, and we need to make sure that we’re looking ahead and trying to move forward, rather than backward, so it’s exciting,” he said.
“When preparing for today, we definitely thought the top 10 is possible,” Bottas went on. “But actually seeing, in reality, being P6, I think this is still a bit of a surprise.
Alfa can replicate qualifying performance in the race
“I think it’s really important for the team because, obviously, Alfa has had a couple of tricky years, and actually seeing a bit of light, I think it’s important to see what is possible.”
“I see no reason why not,” was Bottas’ response when asked if he believed his team can have a similarly strong result come race day.
“The long runs felt good balance-wise,” he revealed. “The long runs haven’t been any worse than the short runs , so I see no reason why we shouldn’t be able to fight with any team, I think, except Red Bull and Ferrari – they seem to be in their own league.
“But with the rest, for sure, we can fight,” the ten-time race winner concluded.
P6!!!!! ☕️ @ValtteriBottas pic.twitter.com/jfYeMMynMe
— Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN (@alfaromeoorlen) March 19, 2022