“Attack Nicholas Latifi at Turn 10” – Valtteri Bottas schools Zhou Guanyu while driving at 190 Km/H

Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas were knocked out in Q1 of the Qualifying session for the Brazilian GP Sprint race. Zhou qualified for P17 and Bottas P18. The two were beaten by the Williams of Nicholas Latifi who edged ahead in the end, qualifying P16.

In order to secure a better result and claim extra points on the sprint, the Alfa Romeo duo had to clear the cars ahead. But Zhou had trouble overtaking Latifi early on.

And that’s where his experienced teammate Bottas stepped in. The 33-year-old was observing his rookie teammates driving and radioed his engineer mid-race, “Tell Zhou to attack him into Turn 10. Latifi is breaking earlier there.”

It was quickly transmitted to Zhou who managed to overtake the Williams at Lap 7 of the 100 Km Sprint. Valtteri would overtake the Canadian in the next lap.

Zhou and Bottas would finish P13 and P14 respectively following an uneventful Sprint race on Saturday. But the Alfa Romeo duo would switch to attack mode securing vital points on Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Also Read: “That’s very rare for a rookie”- Valtteri Bottas remarks what separates Zhou Guanyu from his contemporaries

Valtteri Bottas secures vital points for Alfa Romeo in Brazil

Valtteri Bottas secured vital 2 points for his team by finishing P9 in the 2022 Brazilian GP. The Finn was elated by the result and enjoyed the battles at Interlagos.

Bottas made a fantastic recovery after starting P14. He made his way all the way up to P6 on Sunday. But was overtaken by the likes of Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc and others behind him.

He claimed, “I really enjoyed it! Obviously, it’s always more enjoyable when you have the pace. Starting 14th and ending up ninth is good.”

With the result, Bottas firmed his position in 10th place in the drivers’ standings with 49 points. Unfortunately, his teammate Zhou Guanyu could only finish 12th.

Also Read: “I wanted everything”: Valtteri Bottas admits he was too hard on himself when he had all resources in hand

Alfa Romeo battle Aston Martin for P7 in Constuctors championship

With the Brazilian GP, Valtteri Bottas has secured points on consecutive weekends. He finished P10 in Mexico enifn a disastrous rut for Alfa Romeo who had secured just 1 point since the 2022 Canadian GP.

Both constructors are battling for P6 in the Championship. Alfa Romeo currently leads by 5 points ahead of Aston Martin. And Bottas is happy with his contribution in Sao Paulo.

The Finn adds, “We’re happy because we again scored more than Aston. For us, it’s really important. At least in the last two events, we’ve been a bit stronger again, so that’s good to see. One more to go and we need to seal it in Abu Dhabi.”

Finishing P6 or P7 would make a difference of millions of dollars which would help either team next season. Thus the battle will go down the wire in Abu Dhabi.

Also Read: “Maybe someday I’ll be racing in the US” – 10-GP winner Valtteri Bottas reveals his post-F1 racing plans