2023 British Grand Prix - Friday
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake completed its first day of on-track action at the British Grand Prix. The first practice session at the Silverstone Circuit saw the debut of the upgrade package produced by the team back in Hinwil: Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu fulfilled their daily programmes, getting a good amount of mileage in and testing different set-ups on their C43.
The data gathered today will be analysed overnight, allowing the team to evaluate the performance of new parts ahead of tomorrow's qualifying session.
Valtteri Bottas (car number 77):
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake C43 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
FP1: 15th / 1:30.090 (22 laps)
FP2: 16th / 1:29.378 (28 laps)
"Today, much like most Fridays, has been all about learning. The upgrades we have brought here seem to have given us a bit more downforce; it is a step forward, but we're not the only team who has brought new parts this weekend, and once again, we have seen how extremely close it is in the field with our main competitors. I reckon there is still some work to do overnight to further optimise this package, in order to find that extra performance that could make the difference. Tomorrow, it will be crucial to execute a perfect qualifying, to place ourselves in a favourable position on the grid and hopefully get in the mix for points on Sunday."
Zhou Guanyu (car number 24):
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake C43 (Chassis 01/Ferrari)
FP1: 18th / 1:30.321 (20 laps)
FP2: 11th / 1:29.225 (28 laps)
"The upgrades we have brought here seem to be working as we expected; of course, it is difficult to make predictions based on practice sessions: we will find out where we really stand only when qualifying starts. Today has been all about getting to learn these new parts, and testing different setups. I slightly struggled with the balance, but overall, I think P11 is a decent result – and if we manage to fine tune every detail, I am confident we will be able to extract much more from our car. Tonight, all of our work will go into reviewing the data we have gathered today and analysing it to make a further step forward tomorrow."
