After several difficult races, Valtteri Bottas finally found his way back to Q3 by qualifying eighth for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Alfa Romeo F1 driver is relieved to be back to stronger performance, and in the right peloton.
« It’s positive to be back in Q3, it’s been a long time, and to be closer to the cars in front more than we expected. It shows that we have made progress in the last races » Bottas said.
He now hopes to fight for points: « I think in terms of race pace, I think we’re similar to Alpine and McLaren, but it’s a difficult circuit to overtake at, so it’s mostly going to be a matter of strategy. »
Despite an elimination in Q2, Guanyu Zhou was also happy with the pace displayed: « After Silverstone we had some tough times. Today I was finally happy to be able to do some good laps, I did some clean laps and it was tight in the peloton. »
« The opportunity to move into Q3 was there today. We missed out a bit in sector 1 because Lance came in behind me on his fast lap, and I had to slow down so my temperature wasn’t ideal, but after that it was a very good lap. »
« Yes exactly, having two cars in the top 12 is a good step forward after missing pace at Paul Ricard. We are going in the right direction, especially from my side, having no improvement on the car, I am happy with the pace I showed today. »
