Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative of Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake was pleased with the team’s second points finish of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship in Melbourne, especially after a chaotic race that saw a number of red flags.
Guanyu Zhou scored his first points of the season with an impressive drive that saw him stay out of trouble and work his way up from the back of the grid after being knocked out in Q1 on Saturday. The Chinese driver was a beneficiary of the number of non-finishes and red flags.
Valtteri Bottas finished outside the points for a second consecutive race and he was concerned himself about the lack of pace. Alunni Bravi was pleased with the progress overall and hopes that the team can recapture the pace they had in Bahrain after a challenging weekend in Melbourne.
“Today’s race shows the importance of fighting until the very end of the race. We kept pushing, we executed the race well and we placed ourselves in the position to capitalise on the opportunities when they came our way: luck is only getting a chance, we had to seize it.
“We were actually quite unlucky with the timing of the first red flag: we had both cars on the right strategy to fight for the top ten, but the stoppage, and the free stop it gifted everyone else, effectively jeopardised our afternoon.
“Both Zhou and Valtteri had a solid race, without making mistakes, and on a track like this it meant they were there or thereabout at the chequered flag. Two points are a good return in what has been a challenging weekend.
“We need to make the most of this little break before Baku to understand how to recapture the pace we had in Bahrain, analyse the data from the car, especially with the new upgrades our team at home was able to produce for this race, and get back stronger for the next rounds.”
