Formula 1 | Alfa Romeo F1: ‘A clean day’ for Bottas in Singapore

Alfa Romeo F1 had a promising day at the Marina Bay circuit for Free Practice 1 and 2 of the Singapore Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas signed a promising seventh time in the evening.

“It was a pretty positive Friday, a clean day that allowed us to run our whole program and do a lot of laps,” Bottas said. « Our pace seems quite decent and it’s good to see that we will be able to fight for Q3 tomorrow. »

« It was interesting to do our first run with the new cars here, the track was a bit bumpy, but I expected worse. I was still able to enjoy the track and had a great time. »

“Of course there is more rhythm to find before tomorrow, the analysis of the gaps between the tire compounds will be crucial, but we have made a good start and we can build on that.

“You feel the heat in the cockpit”

For his part, Guanyu Zhou finished the day in the 15th position, and was finally able to discover a complex and very physically demanding circuit: « Our day went smoothly, it’s a good start. We need to make further progress tomorrow and we will be able to have a good qualification. »

« It was interesting to experience Singapore for the first time, and the conditions were quite extreme. This track is really tough, you hardly have time to catch your breath because you have one corner after another and they are all complex, it’s hard, but also very pleasant. »

« The humidity and the heat you feel in the cockpit is an additional challenge: I was prepared for this, but it’s something you really feel. We may have a similar climate in China, but it’s been a long time since I have not been in these conditions! »

« It’s not just the physical side that’s interesting here: the mental side is just as important on such a technical circuit, a bit like in Miami. I’m looking forward to qualifying tomorrow: it will be special for me to race in front of my family and all the Chinese fans out there. »