Valtteri Bottas gives positive Alfa Romeo update following Barcelona struggles

Valtteri Bottas has cut a positive figure in Bahrain over the course of the second and final Formula 1 winter test with him saying that the issues Alfa Romeo faced at the first test in Barcelona are now behind them.

The Finnish driver appears to be looking forward to leading the Alfa team into F1’s new era but the test in Barcelona proved difficult at times for them with a few different technical issues.

Indeed, he did not get the running or mileage he would have liked at the Circuit de Catalunya but that is in the past, and Bahrain has been going better for the team.

Speaking after day one, Bottas said that there’s a much happier feeling in the Alfa garage now with their new C42 car:

“All the issues we had in Barcelona seems like they are now behind us.

“So that’s positive. To be able to do that in one week, and for the team to be able to do that in one week, it was crucial actually that we got those laps.

“We finally managed to do some set-up work, and actually finding out how the car responds and what it needs and how it behaves. And it was nice to feel and to see the progress throughout the day.

“Today, we had no issues. I’m pretty sure the whole grid is probably running the cars with a compromised set-up.

“But we are in a place now where it’s not an issue at all for comfort or for reliability. So that was quite positive.

“You always aim to fix all the issues, but you only see really when you get on track.

“It’s a different track as well. There are different kinds of bumps here, and it’s higher speeds in some of the straights. So it is good to see that there are no issues.

“I could see some nervous people in the morning hoping that everything goes smoothly, and now I can see some happy faces.”