Alfa Romeo’s Formula 1 team boss Frederic Vasseur has urged his squad to profit should any chaotic situation arise at the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix.
Formula 1 is set to get its delayed 2020 campaign underway with back-to-back races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, the first of which will take place this weekend.
Alfa Romeo finished eighth in last year’s Constructors’ Championship with 57 points – 22 of which came in the attrition-filled Brazilian Grand Prix, where top teams encountered setbacks.
The Switzerland-based team has retained Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi for another year and pre-season testing suggested the squad was likely to be towards the rear of the midfield.
“It has been so long since the last race in Abu Dhabi, so obviously we are eager to go back to racing: this is what drives us on and what we have been working for all season,” said Vasseur.
“The first race of the season is often a chaotic affair and that’s when opportunities arise: we will need to be ready to take any that come our way.
“Racing again here in a week’s time will be a new experience for all of us, but we expect the midfield battle to be so close to make both races really open and unpredictable.”
Raikkonen, whose first experience of the Spielberg circuit came in 2001 – under its A1 Ring name – commented: “With so many races in so little time, we need to make the most of every event and score points every time we get the chance.
“It’s hard to tell where everyone stands, but we will find out soon enough.”
Alfa Romeo scored a double points finish at last year’s Austrian Grand Prix when Raikkonen and Giovinazzi rounded out the top 10 positions.
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