Valtteri Bottas admits Alfa Romeo got out developed by rivals in the 2023 season

Valtteri Bottas, so far, has been one of the toughest seasons he had in F1.

Valtteri Bottas admits Alfa Romeo got out developed by rivals in the 2023 season

Valtteri Bottas (Credits: @ValtteriBottas/X)

The first half of the 2023 Formula Oen season has been a lackluster ride for Alfa Romeo. Valtteri Bottas and his teammate Zhou Guanyu started the season with good finishes at Bahrain GP. But, despite some major adjustments, they haven’t hit the mark for a leap to the front. Bottas has confirmed that the team is just playing catch-up with its mid-table rivals.  

Bottas, who scored the highest finish of P8 in the season opener, pointed out that as the season progressed, its rivals introduced major upgrades that helped them to jump to the front row while they struggled to develop C43. The focus the team gave to their 2022 challenger also hindered their progress in the 2023 season.

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“We’ve been out-developed, yes. Also, the way the car was born, just the pure performance level, was not where we wanted. Ever since then, everyone’s improving, and some teams have made big steps – like McLaren recently,” Bottas told Motorsports.com.

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Valtteri Bottas urges the team to plan for a stronger 2024 season

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Alfa Romeo C43 (Credits: @alfaromeostake/X)

The former teammate of Lewis Hamilton is not disheartened as he sees it as an opportunity to learn and invest more in their 2024 challenger. He urged the team not to get frustrated and instead make a good plan for the upcoming season to get to the front row.

“We’re not satisfied with the performance at the moment, and it’s tough racing at the back when you want to be close to the front. But we don’t get frustrated yet, because we need to look ahead and now make a good plan for next year,” he added

Bottas addressed the team’s recent management changes and about creating a clear future strategy.  He said, “[We must] look into the future and make a clear plan. Obviously, there’s been quite a few changes in the team, in the management, and in big roles.”

Alpha Romeo Formula One team is in the P9 in the 2023 F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings with just nine points. Zhou and Bottas are in 16th and 15th standing, respectively, in the point table.  The Chinese driver has scored four points, and Bottas has secured 5 points.

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