Bottas sets the bar high for Alfa Romeo: 'Both in Q3 realistic goal'

Alfa Romeo F1 made a big step up from P9 to P6 in the constructors' championship in 2022. Valtteri Bottas thinks the team has brought speed back from last year, as the Finn set the bar high right after the first practice sessions.

Bottas wants to finish in top ten

Indeed, Bottas thinks it is a realistic goal for him and his teammate Guanyu Zhou to reach Q3 during qualifying in Bahrain. His preliminary practice sessions at the Bahrain International Circuit on Friday went well.

By Formel1.de the Finn says: "I feel confident. Only minor adjustments are needed, so I am ready for the weekend. You can see from today [Friday] that it is very tight in the midfield. Getting into the top ten is not easy, but it's a realistic goal for us if we do everything right."

Two Alfa Romeo cars in Q3 realistic goal

Bottas has yet to face any surprises in Bahrain and the C43 is doing about the same during practice as it did during winter testing. The Finn did lose some speed on the straight during FP2, but as the driver said, he is not worried about the small issues being solved during FP3.

"It's nice that the midfield is so close together, but that makes it difficult to make a prediction. I hope we are ahead in the midfield. Realistically, it looks like we can get two cars into Q3. That should be the goal."