Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur sent a warning to the F1 midfield, saying that their new driver Valtteri Bottas will be coming for them.
Alfa Romeo will line up with a brand-new driver pairing for 2022. Leading their season will be Bottas, who left Mercedes and joined the Italian team on a multi-year deal.
The Finn is a 10-time race winner, and will bring in all his winning experience and racecraft to a team that needs it more than most. With them looking to make a return to the middle of the pack, their weapon seems to be the 2021 Turkish GP winner.
As a result, Vasseur sent a warning to the F1 midfield, saying that they will charge into it with Bottas.
“The first part of the discussion was to give him the stability,” he said, as quoted by Formulanerds.
“Say, ‘Valtteri, I trust you 100 percent. I can see every single weekend what you are able to do in qualifying against (or) in front of Lewis (Hamilton), who is the ultimate reference. For me, you are the guy, and I want to give you the stability and you have to give back to the team the stability’.”
Challenge accepted
“I spend a lot of time with Valtteri, (and) I think he’s taking it as a new challenge, a new opportunity,” Vasseur continued.
“I was crystal clear that it will be much more difficult to win a race with the car next year than with the Mercedes. But I think he’s also taking the fact that his own position into the team will change, and it’s a challenge for him and a new responsibility.
“And I’m convinced because I know him pretty well, that he will grow up with this kind of responsibility. He will develop himself, he will be much more self-confident, and that will help the team and it will help also Valtteri himself.”