Photo by Clive Mason – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
As the circuit heads to Texas, Alfa Romeo is eying a move in the standings
With the Formula 1 field heading to Texas for the first of three-straight race weekends, the team with the most momentum on their side is clearly McLaren. Thanks to double-podium finishes in the last two races from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the team is eying Aston Martin, and a fourth-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship, as the year winds down.
But they are not the only team with some momentum coming out of the Qatar Grand Prix. Further down the table you find Alfa Romeo, who notched their first double-points finish in the main race at Lusail International Circuit. An eighth-place finish from Valtteri Bottas, coupled with a ninth-place result from Zhou Guanyu, inched the team six points closer to Williams.
And six points closer to their stated goal, which is a seventh-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship. Williams sits in seventh place at the moment with 23 points on the season, but thanks to results in Qatar, Alfa Romeo is now just seven points behind, with 16 points on the year.
“The points we scored in Doha gave us great confidence and, of course, made us even hungrier: our championship target, seventh place, is just a handful of points in front of us, and we are ready to go for it,” said Zhou in the team’s preview of the United States Grand Prix.
“We had a really good race on Sunday in Qatar, with the right strategy, strong tyre management, and consistent pit stops as well – we have been able to deliver when it mattered the most, and we should aim to do it again,” he added.
For Bottas, the results in Doha were a complete team effort, from the track to the factory.
“It was great to get back into the points in Qatar, in particular doing so with the kind of race we had: all of us as a team, both trackside and back at base, needed that, and we’ll be ready to battle until the very last lap to try and move forward in the standings,” said the driver.
Bottas also believes that his prior success in Texas, as well as the team’s recent upgrades, bode well for a strong weekend.
“I like the track – I have also won from pole here in 2019,” said Bottas. “Besides getting twice the chances of scoring points again, having two Sprint weekends in a row means we know well what worked in Qatar, and how we can work on maximising our performance straight away. We know our car has the potential to do well, and the upgrades we have introduced over the past month are making a positive difference: we have new bits coming this weekend, too, and I am confident we can keep up with what we have shown two weeks ago and add more points to our name.”
