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Bottas does not rule out strong year at Alfa Romeo: The timing is perfect

Bottas does not rule out strong year at Alfa Romeo: "The timing is perfect"

24-01-2022 17:59 Last update: 18:35
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GPblog.com

Valtteri Bottas has said goodbye to Mercedes and is making the switch to Alfa Romeo F1 team. The timing for his move from a top team to one that competes at the back of the field could not be better, according to the Finn.

No less than five years in a row, Bottas managed to win the constructors' title with Mercedes. Of those five years, he contributed to Lewis Hamilton's championships four times as a perfect second fiddle. Now Bottas is saying goodbye to the German racing outfit, trading Mercedes for the Sauber and Alfa Romeo partnership. The new 'Alfa driver' already indicated that he was finally choosing for himself.

Bottas' choice for Alfa Romeo perfect

That he decided to do so for himself doesn't seem too surprising. Indeed, the Finn has several reasons not to fear this 'step back' to Alfa Romeo. Bottas sees it as an advantage that Alfa Romeo is a team that is forced to climb back up from the valley. Speaking to The-Race.com he says: "One thing is that we have completely new cars and another thing is that Alfa Romeo shifted its focus early last year to this year."

In addition, the budget cap also plays a major role. Bottas says that all the teams have about the same amount to spend: "That gives a chance for the smaller teams to fight at the front. So, timing wise it's perfect." The team itself also thinks that there is more to come this year. The team expressed its ambition to grow last week and did so with a change of team name and team logo.