2023-05-16 16:45:24
Alfa Romeo will enjoy changes this weekend at Imola, to the delight of its drivers, who have been waiting for it.
The start of the season has been difficult so far for Alfa Romeowhich ranks only eighth in the constructors championship with six points on the clock. Last year, at this time, the structure of Hinwil already had 31 units to its credit and occupied the fifth place in the general classification.
The Alfa Romeo C43 lacks performance, it’s obvious, and the changes already made – a new front wing in Melbourne and a revised beam wing in Miami – have not been enough to move it up the hierarchy. However, a major package is planned for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola; Zhou Guanyuwho only finished one of the first five Grands Prix in the top 12, is thrilled.
“Finally, evolutions are coming!” exclaims the Chinese. “The new package should be reasonably good – a few tenths. I think our team really needs it, especially in terms of race pace, we’re struggling a lot.”
Great difficulties highlighted by the race of Valtteri Bottas at Miami. The Finn, qualified tenth following reaching Q3, might not do better than 13th at the finish. “I tried to hang on to the top 10, but unfortunately that reflects our true pace”he laments. “Somehow we found more one-lap performance yesterday, but in the race it all balances out. This is our current position.”
“We have acquired some good knowledge, but I think the point is that we really need these new parts that we will have in Imola; hopefully they will represent an improvement, and thus a better chance of fighting for the top 10. We’ll have a lot of new stuff there, so I’m looking forward to it.”
As for the staff of the team, we are well aware, despite the step forward that these new parts should represent, that the competition will not sit idly by.
“There are no particular corners where we are in difficulty”analyzes Xevi Pujolar, director of track engineering. “If you look at Melbourne and Baku, we were struggling on the straights, but we’re struggling on the corners as well. It’s everywhere, and we’re pushing the limits in all areas. Not just with the car but also with our operation, with the pilots.”
“We have a package for Imola. Hopefully that will help too. The problem is that I’m sure everyone will have a package at Imola, so we’ll have to see what happens.”
With Adam Cooper
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