Valtteri Bottas Hopes to Continue Q3 Streak With Alfa Romeo as Bahrain GP Qualifying Nears

The 2022 season is already on the second day, with drivers gearing up for 3rd free practice and qualifying for Bahrain GP. Even the Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas is eyeing to reach Q3 with his new F1 team Alfa Romeo. Bottas has successful stats in the Qualifying round with the German constructor Mercedes. The Finn is the third driver, after Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, in the F1 history to reach Q3 consecutively over 100 races.

However, he achieved this great feat with Mercedes. And although the driver is no longer with the championship-winning Silver Arrows, he still aims to extend his Q3 streak.

The Finnish driver shared, “I’d like to say exactly where we are, but at this point, I really don’t know. The fight is very close and you don’t know how the other teams are going to perform.” (quotes translated using Google Translate)

“When we look at all the GPS data tonight, we’re going to have some kind of understanding,” Bottas continued. “But the positive thing for me is it looks like we’re not very far away. Obviously, I think we can definitely fight for the top 10 if we manage to improve a little bit more.”

Read More: Alfa Romeo and Valtteri Bottas Take First Power Unit Change of 2022 F1 Season

What’s ahead for Valtteri Bottas in Bahrain?

The Finnish driver was a key figure behind Mercedes’s constructor championship-winning run. Valtteri himself achieved a lot of success with the Brackley bases team. But he was never the number one driver; therefore, he joined Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season. Now he is the primary driver on the team and will be the one to carry the torch for the F1 team towards success.

Despite being in a new team, a new car, and a new environment, Bottas showcased his excellence as a driver. The Finn had a decent run in both the pre-season testings in Barcelona and Bahrain.

However, Bottas had to miss out on the first practice because of issues with the control electronics. But he did participate in the second free practice, where he showcased that he still got the pace. He finished P6 in the second practice, ahead of his former teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was P9.

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Bottas finished third last year in Bahrain, with his Mercedes W12. But can we now expect him to finish in the top 10 with Alfa Romeo comes Sunday? Let’s see whether leaving the Silver Arrows was the right move for Bottas or not.