Valtteri Bottas believes Alfa Romeo has the speed to finish ‘best of the rest’ behind Formula 1’s leading two teams at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Bottas, in his first event since switching from Mercedes, qualified in sixth position in Bahrain, behind only the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers and ex-team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Alfa Romeo classified only ninth in last year’s championship but Bottas reckons the pace in the C42 is sufficient to battle at the front of the midfield group.
“I see no reason why not,” he said on whether his qualifying pace could be converted in the race.
“Long runs, they’ve been not any worse than short runs and balance has been good.
“I see no reason why we shouldn’t be able to fight with any team, except I think Red Bull/Ferrari, they seem a bit their own league, but with the rest we can fight.”
Bottas added that his display should provide confidence to Alfa Romeo after a trying couple of years for the outfit.
“You know when preparing for today we definitely saw the top 10 was possible but seeing reality being P6 is still a bit if a surprise for everyone,” he said
“It’s really important for the team because obviously Alfa has had a couple of tricky years and seeing a bit of light I think is important.
“If someone told me last year in Bahrain we’re going to be side by side with Lewis I’d take it, but yeah, this is the beginning, the starting point for the journey, now we need to make sure we’re looking ahead and trying to move forward rather than backwards, so it’s exciting.”
Rookie team-mate Zhou Guanyu will start from 15th position.
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