Valtteri Bottas thinks Alfa Romeo is in the position of fighting any team on the grid except Ferrari and Red Bull.
Valtteri Bottas secured sixth on the grid on the first qualifying session in Bahrain in his new team – Alfa Romeo.
Bottas is on the sixth behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes. He believes that his team has the performance to keep the rest behind.
He believes that except for Red Bull and Ferrari who seem to be racing in their own league, there is no reason why his team should not be able to fight with any other team.
“It was the first session that we would find out where we actually are and yes, it makes me happy,” he said.
“It gives me a lot of hope, instead of if I would have finished P18, it would be the slightly bigger mountain to climb. There’s still a mountain, but it’s not Mount Everest anymore.”
Also Read: Lewis Hamilton is moderately satisfied with his performance in Bahrain qualifying
Valtteri Bottas outperformed his Mercedes replacement
Tipped to become Lewis Hamilton’s successor at Mercedes, George Russell was outperformed by Bottas in his first outing in the W13.
After the qualifying session, Bottas said that it was cool putting his C42 in between the two Mercedes.
Furthermore, the Finnish driver said that he was not surprised by the strong pace of his car. Previously, there were concerns regarding the reliability but the 32-year-old was sure that the Swiss team is moving in the right direction.
Saturday 🏁
6th in qualifying – bring on tomorrow! Proud of the team @alfaromeoorlen 👊 and well done for Q2 @ZhouGuanyu24 on your first ever quali!https://t.co/lyJfZn86yS#VB77 #F1 #BahrainGP@alfa_romeo pic.twitter.com/88z4UENkq7
— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) March 19, 2022
“We knew if we did everything right, we had a chance of getting into the top 10,” Bottas said. “But seeing it a reality. Being P6 is really quite rewarding. I think it’s really motivating for everyone, so I am pleased.”
When asked if finishing sixth surprised him or not, Bottas replied with, “Yes and no.”
“This morning I was thinking yeah, maybe P6 or P7. Somewhere there would be quite nice. But actually, splitting the Mercedes cars was pretty cool!”
Also Read: Valtteri Bottas shares his thoughts after a blistering Qualifying debut with Alfa Romeo
