Alfa Romeo day two Formula 1 Pre-season testing in Barcelona marked an improvement in mileage after just 32 laps on day one.
Day two didn’t start well for the team’s new driver, Valtteri Bottas, who had to settle for just 21 laps and finished his session 15th in 1:22.288.
Bottas said in the team media briefing: “The team finished the day with a good number of laps, and that has to be the main takeaway today.
“We were able to do regular runs in the afternoon, which bodes well for when I’ll be back in the cockpit tomorrow. I wasn’t able to run as much as I would have liked this morning, but at least we know we’ve solved the problem and can focus on making the most of the last day here in Barcelona.
“There is still a long way to go before we go racing, and we now have data to help the team head towards the right window in terms of settings,” concluded the Finn.
Zhou’s afternoon run gave Alfa Romeo a reason to smile
Alfa Romeo said in their press release that they “close day two of pre-season testing on a high note as Zhou Guanyu covered more than a full race distance on his first afternoon in the new C42” and that “a few small limited problems” Bottas’ race in the morning session, thanks to which they “can look forward to the improved mileage achieved in the rest of the day” thanks to the post-race Zhou noon.
Zhou, who completed 71 laps for the team, said: “It was nice to be able to drive this new generation of cars – it’s definitely different from what I’ve driven in the past.
“I took my time at the start of the session, trying not to push too hard but just to get used to the car and its feel: towards the end I tried some better runs. There’s a bit of a bounce back from last year’s car, of course, but I’m sure it will all improve as the team understands the car better.
“We are working in the right direction. Overall, I’m happy with my day and having done a good number of laps; we were able to bring back a lot of data to be analyzed by our engineers, which is very good before tomorrow.
“I can’t wait to be in the car again tomorrow morning,” concluded the Chinese rookie.
Alfa Romeo has yet to unveil its new livery for 2022, with the C42 running in a special Barcelona camouflage livery.
Day 2: and let’s go! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/rPimOO4cgC
— Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN (@alfaromeoorlen) February 24, 2022
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