Bottas explains his choice to join Alfa Romeo
During a press conference, Valtteri Bottas explained his choice to join Alfa Romeo. The Finn is determined to help his future team, even though winning races seems challenging.
After five years at Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas joins Alfa Romeo in 2022. A well-thought-out decision as F1 is about to enter a new era. Before that, there are still a few races to be completed to win the constructors’ championship with Mercedes.
The decision to join Alfa Romeo was not easy. The Finn initially wanted to stay, but the arrival of George Russell was inevitable. At a press conference before the Italian Grand Prix, Bottas explained his choice to join the Italian team rather than other options.
« Because it’s exciting. It’s a big brand, they have a huge history in motorsports. From the information I know, they can have a bright future and I can help them. It’s something new, something exciting for me, and it’s a bit of a project. There’s no doubt that there will be work to be done, I will give all my expertise to try to improve starting from this season.
On the other hand, the Finn cannot say more about the development of his future team’s next single-seater. However, he still has confidence in his team and maintains high goals.
(I) I can’t tell you everything, but they are serious about the future. I don’t want to share too much, but we have high expectations, high goals, and for me, it’s really motivating.
With a different mindset and approach, Bottas knows he will not be able to fight for victories. But the new regulations and new cars could also reverse the trend. As usual, the Finn will do his best to help his new team score points, and why not, offer them a victory.
“It’s another type of mindset and a different approach. Realistically, fighting for victories next year will be unrealistic, but you never know. There is a change in regulations, there are many motivated people and we will give our all to get as close as possible to the front.”
During the press conference, Bottas commented on Frédéric Vasseur’s remarks by saying he was happy to be given the opportunity to take on the role of team leader and step out of Lewis Hamilton’s shadow at Mercedes. During his time with the German team, Bottas often had the reputation of being a perpetual number 2 behind the Briton.
« I am not in the shadow. Obviously, if you look at the results overall, Lewis was able to beat me every year, so in that sense yes, I have been in the shadow. But honestly now, I don’t really feel it that way. We are a team and we are now in the same boat.
Bottas faces the facts. The driver is too far behind his teammate and Max Verstappen in the championship. His goal is to fight for the constructors’ ranking. Currently, Mercedes has a small lead of 12 points over Red Bull. The battle is far from over.
