Ninth in the constructors’ championship in 2021, Alfa Romeo was one of the teams that voluntarily sacrificed last season in order to bet everything on the arrival of the new regulations. And if everything has not been perfect so far, the Swiss-based team can be proud of a very good progress.
She thus saw Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou both finish in the top top 10 from Bahrain, which was a first for the team since the 2020 season. The Finn confirmed the very good functioning of the C42 by scoring points during Australia’s five consecutive races at Monaco, notching his team’s best result this season by finishing fourth at Imola.
But Alfa Romeo still lost a lot of points because of reliability this season. In reality, it has known few weekends where the mechanics have not been a problem, the Ferrari engine having also had its share of responsibility. But it is also in terms of performance that the team has regressed for a few races, or at least suffered the progress of teams such as Alpine F1 and McLaren.
While it seemed able to compete for the honorary title of “best of the others” at the start of the season, Alfa Romeo is now further behind the two teams mentioned above and has just completed four races without scoring a single point. It will therefore have to progress in the second half of the season if it wants to keep its sixth place in the constructors’ championship until the end.
Technical review: The evolution of the Alfa Romeo C42
Valtteri Bottas
Thanked by Mercedes F1 after five years of good and loyal service, Valtteri Bottas intended to regain color by joining Alfa Romeo F1 this year. And the Finn, although aboard a less efficient single-seater than in the past and often betrayed by the mechanics, seems to have made the right choice.
Still just as effective in qualifying, the Finn brought back many points at the start of the season and took a fine fourth place in the race at Imola. And besides his role as the lead driver on the track, he has also proved to be a very good companion for his teammate Guanyu Zhou, who is the only rookie this season in F1.
And although Bottas has been suffering from his team’s decline for a few races, he seems to be flourishing in his new team with whom he is sure to be present for several more years. His goal for the second half of the season will probably be to return to the top 10 on a regular basis, while continuing to lead his new team where he seems to be completely confident.
Statistics
9th with 46 points
— 0 win
— 0 pole position
— 0 podiums
— 0 fastest laps
— 0 hat tricks
— 0 grand slams
Guanyu Zhou
Sole rookie of the season in Formula 1, Guanyu Zhou had many detractors to prove this year, many observers having estimated that he had entered the discipline largely thanks to his sponsors. But the Chinese proved that he had in no way usurped his place, even if the figures do not necessarily show it.
In the points from his debut in Bahrain, Zhou progressed from race to race without making any mistakes and showed good consistency for a neophyte. If his eighth place in Canada remains his best sporting achievement of the season so far, he has above all impressed by his calm and his maturity and he should barring an accident, be extended by Alfa Romeo for the 2023 season.
For the second half of the season, the miracle of Silverstone will probably hope that the reliability problems will finally leave him alone in order, of course, to score more points, he who has only won two top 10 finishes due to a lack of obvious success so far.
Statistics
17th with 5 points
— 0 win
— 0 pole position
— 0 podiums
— 0 fastest lap
— 0 hat tricks
— 0 grand slams
comparative
Race: 10/2 in favor of Bottas (when both have finished)
Qualifying: 10/3 in favor of Bottas
