The potential of Alfa Romeo “masked” by the qualifications

For the first time in two years, Alfa Romeo is having a very good start to the season. Coming straight from Mercedes, the Finn Valtteri Bottas has already brought valuable points to the Swiss team, thanks to his sixth place finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix, among other things. Alongside him, rookie Guanyu Zhou is also performing well, as he scored his first points in the opening round and has shown a rare consistency so far.

However, the Australian qualifications proved to be a challenge for both drivers. Indeed, neither of them was able to reach Q3, ending Valtteri Bottas’s impressive streak of 103 consecutive Q3 appearances. The Finnish driver explained this failure by the last-minute wing change, even before the fourth DRS zone was removed.

According to Alfa Romeo team principal Frédéric Vasseur, it was their missed qualifications that hindered the drivers during the race. “There was a step back in qualifications,” he lamented. “I think we messed up in Q2. But Q1 was good. We were P6 and the race pace was great. The problem is that we lost too much time on the track behind Stroll mainly. But overall, I am happy with the pace, including Zhou’s as he did very well. I believe it’s a good weekend for us, in line with the first two.” Vasseur elaborated.

At the end of this third round, Alfa Romeo took sixth place in the constructor’s standings, just ahead of Haas and a few points behind McLaren. As for the upcoming races, Frédéric Vasseur remains confident, stating that the improvements to the C42 will demonstrate their effectiveness.