28/07/2023
NEWS STORY
Alfa Romeo F1 Team KICK undertook the first day's session for the Sprint Belgian Grand Prix weekend, tackling Friday qualifying at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to define the grid for Sunday's race.
Following limited track time during the only free practice session of the weekend, due to the heavy rains that affected the Ardennes, Valtteri Bottas claimed a ticket for Q2 by setting the 14th fastest time; with both drivers showing promising pace, an unfortunate lock-up on his final push lap prevented Zhou Guanyu to join his team-mate in the top 15, eventually finishing in 17th place.
The race weekend will continue tomorrow, with the standalone Shootout Qualifying and Sprint race providing the action.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: "Our aim today was to bring both cars into Q2, and we only partially achieved that. It was unfortunate for Zhou to be out at the end of Q1; he did a good first sector during his final push lap, but then, a lock-up in turn five took away his chances to be in the top fifteen. His pace was good, so he could have easily achieved Q2 as well. Valtteri did a good job in qualifying, he was quite strong in Q1 and had a shot at making it into the top ten: we made a good call with the switch to slicks but timing didn't work out for us, and with Valtteri the first to complete the final push lap, he was at a disadvantage compared to the other drivers as the track kept improving. Nevertheless, we are confident we have a chance of playing our cards with both cars during the race; we are aware, of course, that it won't be easy in these conditions, but we have seen today how it was possible to achieve something more."
Valtteri Bottas: "It's been quite tricky today: we got limited track time during the only free practice session due to the heavy rain; then, during qualifying, the grip felt different in every lap and in different sectors, so it was really important to read the conditions properly and make the right tyre choices. We were the first ones to put on the slicks at the end of Q2, but unfortunately the timing didn't work out for us: we crossed the line first, while the track was drying up, and then everyone else subsequently improved. Of course, it has been disappointing, but as a positive we had decent pace, which gives us an encouragement ahead of tomorrow's Shootout and Sprint Race."
Zhou Guanyu: "It was a shame to miss out on Q2, especially as my final lap had started really well: I was already half a second up during the first sector, and I think we could have easily made it into Q2, but that was not to be today. As one positive, our car felt alright under changeable conditions, the feeling was good, and it allowed us to be in the mix. Of course, it hasn't been an ideal start to our weekend, as we got just a handful of laps in during free practice. Still, I am convinced we will be able to have a smoother day tomorrow, even if the weather remains the same, so I am looking forward to it."
Check out our Friday gallery from Spa here.