Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN enjoyed a solid first day of track action at the Australian Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu led the team through the two Friday practice sessions, confirming the good form the team showed in the two opening rounds of the seasons as Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN prepare for tomorrow's qualifying.

Valtteri Bottas: "I am pretty happy about where we are and I think I have a realistic chance to keep my Q3 streak going - I don't want to give up on that! That's our goal, if we set the car up right tonight we should be fighting for a place in the top ten. We were able to run with different compounds today and the way they work reflect pretty much what we expected, so we are confident we can use them well, and I didn't suffer from too much degradation, which is a positive. Overall, I am pleased - I also really like the new track layout. It's fast, overtaking should be easier but not too easy: I think they did a good job."

Zhou Guanyu: "The first impact with this track was quite interesting, probably not quite what I imagined it would be. I did a lot of running in the simulator, but it's only when you're actually here that you notice how close you are to the grass and how tiny and narrow the track is. It's a tricky layout but I am enjoying it: it's nice to drive and I'm getting into a rhythm. I am still learning about the car, about the engineering, and how to get the most out of everything throughout the weekend: to also have to learn a new track is an added challenge, but I like it - it's not a big issue. Our pace looks competitive, I am optimistic for tomorrow. We still have a lot of work to do with the engineers, so hopefully we can find something more overnight. If we put our lap together, we should be in a good place."

Check out our Friday gallery from Melbourne, here.