02/09/2022
NEWS STORY
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN completed a busy day of practice in Zandvoort as preparations continued for this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix. The team had an issue-free day, collecting crucial data to unlock extra performance ahead of tomorrow's qualifying session.
Valtteri Bottas: "We got some clean running, which is always a positive, but it was quite a tricky day. It was quite windy and this may have contributed to making the balance of the car feels a bit inconsistent: whatever the cause is, we have to figure out how to improve tonight so to find a bit more for qualifying. Grid position will be important on this tight track and I expect everyone's setup to be a bit skewed towards single-lap performance: in the end, the challenge is the same for everyone so we'll see how tomorrow goes."
Zhou Guanyu: "Of course, today was quite a change from the last time I raced here; the track layout back then, for starters, was the old school one, while now there's a lot of banking, and it's overall different driving on it in a Formula One car. In terms of learning the track, I think today was a really smooth day: we didn't have any issues and, while we still haven't got the best balance for the car yet, we will make sure to find it ahead of tomorrow. Zandvoort is a high-downforce track, and it's always quite dirty due to the gravel and being next to the beach. Once again it will be super tight in the midfield, but we're still there: we just need to find a few tenths ahead of qualifying and we'll be through."
Check out our Friday gallery from Zandvoort here.