The Swiss outfit surprised the paddock when both cars were consistently fast throughout qualifying, with Zhou Guanyu topping Q1 and eventually earning fifth place.
Bottas achieved a position as high as fourth during Q2 and later secured seventh place in Q3, with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari separating him from his teammate.
Recently, Alfa has been consistently introducing new components to the C43. During the British Grand Prix, a significant floor package was unveiled.
Bottas expressed his anticipation for the car to have a stronger performance at Silverstone. However, both drivers failed to advance past the initial qualifying segment. Bottas acknowledged his surprise at the significant improvement in their position on the grid.
“I expressed my anticipation that the car would feel somewhat improved compared to Silverstone,” stated the Finnish driver. “However, it has exceeded my expectations. We are pleasantly surprised and will gladly accept it.”
“I believe it is necessary for us to acquire knowledge regarding the new package and its configuration. However, the ride heights are not currently optimized. Nevertheless, we are pleasantly surprised by our impressive speed today, which appears to be consistent across various aspects.”
“I believe this track highlights the positive attributes. Additionally, typically we experience some sluggishness in the straight line, but in this case, there is only one straight. Therefore, we lose less time during laps and it is faster in the curved sections.”
The team had a successful weekend with the correct setup and direction, resulting in everything going well. However, when it came down to tenths of a second in Q3, those details became important. Overall, it was a very productive day.
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C43
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Bottas began to recognize the potential of the package in Hungary after the FP3 session on Saturday.
“After completing the third practice session and recording the lap times, I found myself in 10th place,” he mentioned. “Despite not using the qualifying engine mode yet. I realized that we were making progress.”
“I informed Andreas Seidl before qualifying that we would finish in the top seven today. It turned out to be a fairly accurate prediction. It’s a shame I can’t engage in betting, as I could have potentially earned some decent money!”
Bottas acknowledged that slight differences can have a significant impact: “When focusing on the outcomes rather than the individual lap times, it appears as though there are substantial fluctuations.”
“If you examine the recorded lap times, it becomes evident that the situation is different. Therefore, success on the weekend depends on making the correct decisions, which can significantly alter numerous positions.”
“It is pleasing to witness; I believe this is the ideal state for F1. Consequently, we are content today, although certain other teams may not share the same sentiment.”
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