“We need to keep an eye on every single thing”: Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas faces the threat of an engine penalty ahead of the season opener in Bahrain

Alfa Romeo’s new driver Valtteri Bottas faced problems with his engine on Friday which may force him into taking an engine penalty. 

After spending five seasons with Mercedes, Bottas left them to make a name in Alfa Romeo. The Swiss based team were in need of an experienced driver after Kimi Raikkonen’s retirement. Bottas was deemed to be the perfect replacement.

During his last season in Mercedes, the Finn faced multiple problems with his power unit. These came as reliability issues, and sometimes even tactical decisions made by the team. As a result, Bottas was forced to take several grid penalties throughout the course of the season.

This season, Bottas isn’t with Mercedes anymore. However, there is a possibility of a grid penalty for him ahead of his first race with Alfa Romeo.

Minutes into Friday’s practice , Bottas took to the team radio to talk about a misfire in his engine. He then returned to the garage, and wasn’t able to get his car back on track until the final 10 minutes of the session.

Later that evening, FIA announced that the 32-year old had changed out the Control Electronics component of his power unit. Throughout the course of a season, drivers are only allowed to change it once.

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Valtteri Bottas feels positive in spite of Alfa Romeo’s reliability issues

Changing the CE of his Ferrari engine once again would mean that Bottas has to take a grid-penalty. The team haven’t looked confident about their durability as of yet, but Bottas is sure that they’re on the right track.

“The morning was disappointing,” he said. “But everyone did a good job finding the issue and getting it fixed for FP2. “Because that was the important session, and we got plenty of laps in.”

“It’s a positive feeling. For sure, there are still things to improve, but it’s not bad. It’s always tricky to say from lap times, but we can see that we’re not too far off, so that’s a good sign.”

“We still need to try when it’s full power but, so far, it’s been really nice to drive, so no issues from that side.

“We’ll see once everyone turns up their engines for qualifying where we actually are,” the former Mercedes driver concluded.

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