With his withdrawal in Q1 for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton delivered one of the biggest surprises in testing. In the meantime, Valtteri Bottas, a former teammate, finished eighth in the Alfa Romeo, and the Finn is pleased with his new squad.
After his exit from Mercedes at the end of last year, Valtteri Bottas has recounted how it seemed to witness Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes struggle in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Hamilton crashed out of Q1 during Saturday’s practise, the first time this has happened to him since 2017. He failed to get to grips with the W13 and was forced to retire. George Russell, on the other hand, had a little smoother day and completed the hour in sixth place.
Bottas, meanwhile, continued to impress in the Alfa Romeo, qualifying eighth, ahead of new colleague Zhou Guanyu, who qualified 13th.
Bottas: “Weird” to see Hamilton struggling
Bottas confesses it was surprising to see Hamilton struggle with the car in Saturday’s practise session.
“It’s weird to see,” he told media.
“I would guess he had some kind of issue, I don’t know.”
Despite the fact that Mercedes’ issues have emerged as a shock, Bottas is still relishing the chance to race against his former team.
“It is surprising to see them struggling, but it’s also nice to be able to battle with them,” the Finnish driver said.
The beginning of Alfa Romeo’s career has been “the best case scenario”
Bottas has had a solid start to the season after joining Alfa Romeo from the Silver Arrows, finishing sixth in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix for the team, earning double points.
Bottas is pleased with his decision to join the Swiss team in general.
“I think this was kind of the best case scenario for our first season together that I could ever imagine, with the information I had,” the 10-time race winner explained.
“I’m really happy with the decision I made, and I’m happy overall as well. So yeah, [I’m] enjoying it.”
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F1, F1 2022, Formula 1, Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo