Bottas understands nothing about slow Alfa Romeo: 'It's odd'

Alfa Romeo is one of the disappointments of the season, with the Swiss team not getting it right in 2023 so far. Both drivers have already scored points, but the speed of the car is not great.

For Australia, the team had brought upgrades, and after Friday, both drivers indicated that they were working well. The next day revealed otherwise: Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou were both stranded in the first part of qualifying. In the race, Zhou did manage to score points, although with eight retirements that might have been a little easier.

Bottas finished last in both qualifying and the race. Only Carlos Sainz's time penalty caused the Finn to move up one place after all. Lewis Hamilton's old teammate does not understand why his team is doing so badly. "We see everything in the wind tunnel, and it [the upgrade] is working as it should. I’m not convinced that’s the issue because it did feel like an improvement, and the numbers say that as well. It's a bit odd," said the Finn at Speedcafe.com.

The next race in Baku is not until the last weekend of April. That works out well for Bottas' team, as now there is plenty of time to analyse everything. "We’ll make sure to look into that gap before the next race. I am actually glad to have some time before Baku, to get back to the drawing board and get back in a more competitive shape."