Alfa Romeo Pre-Season Testing: What we learnt from Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou’s C42 runs in Bahrain

The second phase of pre-season testing ahead of the first Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain this month, officially concluded on Saturday this week in Bahrain. The 3-day testing period saw all the 10 teams on the grid give their brand new cars, some modified after the testing period at Barcelona a go, which is visibly different from their predecessors. The testing took place on the Bahrain International Circuit in the heart of the vast Sakhir desert.

The differences talked about are the variations that have taken form in the newly implemented technical rules and regulations for the 2022 season of F1. The cars this season are 47kgs heavier than the ones that we’ve seen in the previous season. This also makes the car the heaviest that we’ve ever seen in the last nine decades of F1. These new regulations have been put to use to help the teams in the skill of overtaking and to ensure that competition remains fair by allowing the other teams on the grid to compete against the top two teams on the grid.

Former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas driver replaced Finn Kimi Raikonnen and will be seen this season driving for the Italian racing team alongside F1 debutante Guanyu Zhou. The team didn’t exactly have the best season in 2021 with them finishing ninth in the constructors’ championship right above Haas Racing. This season they’d be looking forward to ensure their ranking on the grid, especially with the implementation of the new technical rules and regulations which is supposed to make competition on the grid fairer.

Valtteri Bottas Lap Timings and Laps Completed

The C42 hasn’t exactly given Russian driver Valtteri Bottas the warmest welcome at Alfa Romeo with its severe reliability issues at both the phases of pre-season testing at Barcelona and Bahrain. Although the car displayed speed at unpredictable moments, its reliability issues rose to the surface. Bottas has his own doubts regarding Alfa Romeo’s ability to reach the finish line on the first Grand Prix of the season at the Bahrain International Circuit given its below average run in Bahrain too. The driver seemed to have accepted the fact that they can’t yet get more information on the C42 until the kick-off of the first Grand Prix weekend on Friday this week.

Guanyu Zhou Lap Timings and Laps Completed

Alfa Romeo found a replacement for Antonio Giovinazzi in the form of Chinese debutante on the grid, Guanyu Zhou. He is also going to be the very first Chinese driver to take part in an F1 race. In his stint at the Bahrain International Circuit, Zhou faced a comparatively less number of issues as compared to he did in the Barcelona phase of testing. He was also able to get quite a number of laps under his belt at the second phase of testing. This proved to be a pretty crucial 3-day period for the newbie given the fact that he’s going to take part in his first Grand Prix this weekend.

Struggles faced by Alfa Romeo

After a trouble-ridden stint at the Barcelona phase of testing, the Bahrain testing’s problems seemed pretty minor compared to it. Apart from reliability issues, there was an issue with hydraulics too in the Bahrain testing period. The car still seems pretty unreliable as to being able to finish at the first Grand Prix of the season at the Bahrain International Circuit. They also engaged in shorter runs towards the end of the testing.

Key positives for Alfa Romeo to take away

Alfa Romeo have been successful to set up some base work for the C42 at the Bahrain stint of testing. The car also showed positive speed levels at time which could be an indicator of the fact that the C42 can be further developed to extract the best performances out of it for the 2022 F1 season.

Also Read: Valtteri Bottas is enjoying life at Alfa Romeo despite a different vibe

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW