Bottas joins Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season after five years at Mercedes, scoring 10 wins for the Silver Arrows and helping it win the constructors’ championship in all five seasons.
But Finn was unable to race regularly with teammate Lewis Hamilton, who together won all but one season of the drivers’ championship.
Bottas is more of a senior team principal with Alfa Romeo, partnering with rookie Zhou Guanyu, who has scored 41 of 46 points so far this season.
In an interview with Motorsport.com before the summer break, Bottas explained that he feels he has more responsibility at Mercedes than Alfa Romeo, which makes him more Consider the fleet’s long-term plans.
“I definitely feel that I really want to help push the team in the right direction,” Bottas.
“It also makes me always think twice, ‘Okay, is this really the direction we want to go? It’s really interesting.
“Even with next year’s car, always when I hear about updates and all that, it’s really interesting for me to be so involved technically. I can already start imagining the handling of the car.
Asked if he felt a change in his mindset when dealing with car development compared to when he was at Mercedes, Bottas said: “Yes. I never managed to be a Mercedes.
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by Alfa Romeo
“It’s more like the computer said this kind of car would be the fastest. Most of the time it worked. But now with human influence it’s also very Good.”
Bottas told Motorsport.com in the same interview that he thinks 2022 may be his most enjoyable season in F1 to date,
Alfa Romeo F1 boss Frederic Vasseur said he could “perfectly imagine” Bottas’ situation, although he warned against making the Finn
“Of course you are in Mercedes There’s more pressure and he’s always in Lewis’ shadow, always on a short-term deal,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com.
“I didn’t want to put him in a relaxed state because of the performance of the pair. But somehow it sent him the message that he has the full support of the team.
“I think if you look at all the good sports over the last 20 years, it’s always been built around the drivers. “
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