周冠宇

Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN opened its 2022 campaign with a strong performance that delivered a double points finish, with Valtteri Bottas finishing 6th ahead of team-mate, Zhou Guanyu, in P10.

The team delivered an attacking performance and converted their pace into points, despite having to recover from two difficult starts: both drivers were involved in some nice battles, with Zhou peppering his Formula One debut with decisive overtaking moves and Valtteri using all his experience to bring home an impressive result.

The nine points acquired on the night place the team in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship as we had to Saudi Arabia for next week's race in Jeddah.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal: "Coming home with two cars in the points in the first race is the perfect way to start the season. The team has demonstrated skill but also resilience as we came back from a poor start, but stuck to our plan and made a lot of progress through the field. In a sense, this is an even more promising sign as we were able to mount a comeback, which means our car is genuinely competitive. We are aware the season ahead is going to be a long one and that our rivals will challenge us already next week, but we have a very good result on day one and that's a big boost for everyone at the team. In particular, I am very happy for both Valtteri and Zhou: to have such a result on their first race with the team is the best way to start our relationship. We will aim to build on this night as we keep developing our car and keep fighting at this level."

Valtteri Bottas (car number 77):
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42 (Chassis 01/Ferrari)
Race result: 6th
Fastest lap: 1:36.599 (Lap 53)
Tyres: Used Soft (14 laps) –  New Medium (22 laps) – New Medium (9laps) – Used Soft (15 laps)

"I am very happy about tonight's result: for me, but most importantly for the team, with two cars in the points, and for Zhou who got points in his first race. The race went really well, with the exception of the start: I got a lot of wheelspin and was basically a sitting duck for the first lap, just trying to avoid contact. When that stabilised, however, we had really good pace: we didn't give up, executed a really good strategy and, in the end, completed a good recovery. We took it lap by lap as we knew we had the car to get back in the top 10. It is a great way to start the season: there are still things to improve, of course, but we're just at the first race of the year. Our priority was reliability and I am happy we could finish with both cars as the speed is there. Everyone did a good job and we are going in the right direction."

Zhou Guanyu (car number 24):
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
Race result: 10th
Fastest lap: 1:36.685 (Lap 39)
Tyres: New Soft (15 laps) – New Medium (22 laps) – New Medium (8 laps) – Used Soft (15 laps)

"I am so happy, I am speechless. There are so many emotions tonight but my first thought is for the team: seeing how everyone worked so hard to go from where we were at the end of last year to where we are today is so incredible. My biggest dream was to race in F1, then to score points and tonight we did both: being on the grid before the race, with the other 19 drivers, was crazy enough, but the race itself was so intense. It wasn't so physically, but rather mentally: I had an issue at the start, the car went into anti-stall at turn one and then I knew I would have to do something special to recover to the top 10. I pushed a lot, caught up with Valtteri and then lost track position again when the Safety Car came out, before climbing back to P10 – such a rollercoaster. I tried to give everything I had tonight as this meant so much to me and all those who supported me. The cool-down lap was quite emotional: I am so proud of my team and of my team-mate, for all the work we did together to bring home this reward. It is a day I will never forget and I will enjoy the moment for a while, but then it's all attention to Jeddah: there is a lot more we want to achieve."