"We can be pretty close to the podium" - Valtteri Bottas hoping for a 'perfect weekend' with Alfa Romeo at the 2022 F1 Miami GP
Valtteri Bottas is hoping for a 'perfect weekend' in Miami after an excellent P5 finish in the 2022 Imola GP.
The Finn claims his team has not had a perfect race weekend so far in 2022 but is still in a good position to score future podiums.
Chequered flag! 🏁
Valtteri is P5 after a big battle with RUS! P15 for Zhou after a recovery from the back! #ImolaGP
The 2022 Imola GP was bittersweet for Alfa Romeo, with rookie Guanyu Zhou having finished in P15 and Valtteri Bottas in P5.
Bottas, in particular, had an excellent race, finishing just behind his Mercedes replacement George Russell at the end. The race could have gone even better for the 32-year-old, but he suffered a slow pitstop that potentially robbed him of a podium finish.
The driver claimed that his team has not had a 'perfect weekend' so far in 2022, stopping them from potentially appearing on the podium.
Bottas told the press ahead of the 2022 Miami GP:
"The fact is that we still haven't had a perfect race weekend. Either we've had issues in practice, qualifying or the race and it is all about getting a perfect weekend and that way I think we can be pretty close to the podium. Obviously, depending on the track but it's a great motivation and goal for us that we are really pushing for and we just need to keep making progress and trying to be perfect."
Valtteri Bottas' battle with George Russell wasn't personal, claims the Finnish driver
The #MiamiGP starts here! ☀️🌴 https://t.co/zfqAVk9Jgd
George Russell and Valtteri Bottas had an epic scrap for P4 at the end of the 2022 Imola GP, with the Briton emerging victorious.
While many claimed Bottas was motivated to beat Russell due to their history with Mercedes, the 32-year-old denied any such allegations, claiming it was not personal.
When asked if his battle with Russell was motivated by personal reasons, Bottas told the press:
“No, it was points. Chasing points and always trying to maximize every opportunity, every position you can make, and obviously, it was a nice target for me because from mid to the end of the race there wasn’t really much action around me. I was catching him a few tenths a lap and that just kept me pushing. The target was more points than comparison so that’s how it goes.”
The former Mercedes driver hopes to beat the young Briton on track in Miami. During Friday's FP1, however, the driver unfortunately crashed out while taking a fast left-hander, provoking a red flag.
Having missed most of FP1 and all of FP2, Valtteri Bottas and the team will be looking to capitalize on Saturday's final practice session. They will be hoping to finalize a suitable setup for the qualifying session later.