Despite Alessandro Alunni Bravi feeling that both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu delivered sold performances during the Belgian Grand Prix, neither driver could break into the top ten on Sunday, with both drivers hindered by where they started the race.
Bottas gained two positions from his starting spot to finish twelfth, while Zhou ended thirteenth having made up four positions. Both drivers were hampered by their pace in Qualifying, which meant they were left with too much to do to secure a top ten finish.
Alunni Bravi, the Team Representative at Alfa Romeo, believes the team made a step forward in performance at Spa-Francorchamps, particularly in dry conditions, which he hopes will benefit them going forward.
However, he acknowledges that they will need to execute Qualifying better and start from better grid spots if they are to make the most of their improved performance throughout the remainder of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.
“Both drivers and the team executed a solid race today: we were able to recover some positions on track, finishing close to the top ten and, most importantly, matching the pace of our competitors,” said Alunni Bravi.
“As a positive to take from this weekend, we reckon we have made a decent step forward in these weather conditions and on this type of track, comparing our weekend performance to previous ones on similar layouts.
“Of course, we were aware that from our starting positions today, scoring points was going to be a tough job without anything happening on track; nevertheless, both drivers had good pace today, and in terms of top speed, have been able to both defend their positions and attack to move forward through the field.
“Now, one final effort awaits us before a well-deserved break: we will analyse this first half of our season, aiming to make a significant step forward in terms of performance.
“We will be recharging our batteries over the next few weeks, getting ready for the second half of the season, which will for sure be tougher and tighter: we will come back in Zandvoort fully focused and motivated to get back to scoring points in each event.”
