The change was perhaps not surprising, but it was significant all the same.
Valtteri Bottas transition Lewis Hamilton from the shadows to Alfa Romeo removed a huge burden from the shoulders of the 32-year-old Finnish driver. As a result, the F1 pit has seen a much more relaxed, calm and confident Bottas this season.
– The difference from before has been obvious to me, For Toto (Wolff, Mercedes team manager), to the journalists and in general to everyone in the pit. Valtteri is clearly more relaxed, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t 100% focused, Alfa Romeo team manager Frédéric Vasseur said via video call to Urheilu before the Silverstone race weekend.
Bottas drove for Mercedes, which dominated the F1 series for five seasons. At the same time, teammate Hamilton became a seven-time world champion and one of the best, if not the best, driver in the history of the sport.
According to Vasseur, the setting was merciless.
– Valtteri was behind Lewis, but who wouldn’t have been in the last five years? It is enough to look at all of Hamilton’s or Max Verstappen’s teammates. All of them except maybe With Sergio Pérez has been really difficult.
– Even if the team treats the second-place drivers fairly, the team’s attention is always on the number one star. It makes the relationship between teammates anything but easy.
Mercedes hired a top talent waiting for his opportunity to replace Bottas for the current season by George Russell. Bottas signed a contract with Alfa Romeo, which did not have much to remember from 2021.
Those who drove in the team last year Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi collected a total of 13 points. In the manufacturers’ championship battle, behind Alfa Romeo was only Haas, who had no points.
This year, the Swiss team’s going has been different. As the season approaches the halfway point, Alfa Romeo is sixth with 51 points. Bottas, who is eighth in the drivers’ championship, has already collected more points (46) than Kimi Räikkönen in his best Alfa Romeo season in 2019 (43).
– Fourth place for manufacturers is not an impossibility. Besides the athletic side, the most important thing is that the atmosphere in the team is very positive. The mutual relationship between the drivers is strong, and the cooperation with the rest of the team works. We are a small team, so we have to get the best out of everyone, Vasseur said.
“We can talk about things directly”
Vasseur has often highlighted Bottas’ role in Alfa Romeo’s success. The Nastola driver has scored points in seven of the ten races of the season.
The French boss has praised the Finnish driver’s way of taking responsibility not only on the track but also outside it, among the engineers and mechanics.
The 54-year-old motorsport expert has known Bottas for a long time. Bottas drove formula threes and the GP3 series in the ART Grand Prix team founded by Vasseur until 2011. When Bottas signed a three-year contract with Alfa Romeo in the fall of 2021, Vasseur hoped that he would become the leader of the team.
– I was optimistic, but I wasn’t completely sure if he would succeed. It wasn’t easy being in Lewis’s shadow all the time. Now I can say that Valtteri does a perfect job.
– He takes on a role at the factory and makes the engineers do their best. He knows how to motivate and demand, which has a positive effect on the team. It also helps that we know from before. We trust each other and can talk about things directly.
Vasseur is particularly impressed by the way Bottas treats his teammate, who is driving in his first season in Formula One Guanyu Zhouta23. The French team boss has seen a lot in his decades-long career, but Bottas’ behavior in the team meeting before the Canadian race (June 19) was a rare moment by Vasseurink’s standards.
The team gathered after qualifying to discuss the race strategy. Bottas was 11th in qualifying, Zhou tenth. The Finnish striker stated that Zhou would be allowed to decide on the tactics, after all, he had been the better of the two in qualifying.
– Usually the driver, who is more experienced and leads in the World Championship points, tries to influence the tactics and turn the situation to his advantage. Valtteri gave the space to Zhou. It was a great sign not only for the team but also for Zhou. Valtteri helps his teammate to increase his skills and self-confidence, Vasseur said.
– Valtteri is a smart guy. He knows that is the best way for us to make a result.
Alfa Romeo’s prospects for success are significantly brighter than a couple of years ago, but Vasseur is careful not to talk about concrete profit targets. The Ferrari power source used by the team has been effective this season, but its reliability has raised concerns.
The most blatant example of technical problems was seen in the competition in Azerbaijan in mid-June. Ferrari chasing the World Championship title Charles Leclercthis teammate Carlos Sainz as well as the Haas using the Ferrari engine by Kevin Magnussen and Zhou’s races ended in suspension when the cars failed to last.
– Without reliability problems, we would be fourth in the manufacturers’ championship. It is public knowledge that the situation with the power source is not ideal. At some point, the limit comes up and we have to take the penalty, Vasseur analyzed.
– In the big picture, however, it must be said that Ferrari’s power source is extremely efficient. For me, it’s better to have a very strong engine and lose places in a couple of races than to be slow and avoid problems. I am extremely happy with Ferrari’s work and am sure these issues will be fixed.
The 2022 season has been the most eventful for many years, which means surprises even for the underdogs. You have to be awake in such moments.
– From places 5–6, you can jump to place 18 within a week and vice versa. Just look at Haas. We have to hold our position and try to get both our cars into another top ten from the race weekend.
Last season showed that competitions are not always a celebration of big and financially superior winners. When McLaren celebrated a double victory in Italy in September, the team manager Zak Brown tattooed the Monza circuit on his arm. In the background was the Aussie driver who won the race Daniel Ricciardo bet made with
Would Vasseur be the same if Valtteri Bottas brings Alfa Romeo to the checkered flag first during the season?
– Surely not. If I do something, I’ll do it with Valtter and the boys, but I won’t make it public, Vasseur said with a laugh.