2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix highlights

Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN

Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN saw the chequered flag in a chaotic Japanese Grand Prix, but there was no reward for Valtteri Bottas’s and Zhou Guanyu’s heroics under the pouring rain in Suzuka. Despite the team’s relentless work in a red-flagged, much-delayed race, Valtteri and Zhou finished in 15th and 16th place, respectively. Showing impressive pace after a pit stop for intermediates, Zhou set the fastest lap of the race – his first such accolade in his Formula One career.

Valtteri Bottas (car number 77)

The conditions were very difficult today, in particular at the beginning of the race. The first couple of laps were quite risky, mainly because visibility wasn’t excellent from my position. It was a bit sketchy. We seemed to have a good pace, especially as the track dried out a bit, but unfortunately, it was difficult to overtake today: I think most of the drivers struggled with that, which was a shame as I ended up stuck behind Magnussen for pretty much all of the race. We can still find some positives from this weekend: we were super close to getting into Q3 yesterday, so that’s good. It’s a slight improvement, and we must aim for it for the season’s final races. Hopefully, we can build on that and have a good qualifying in Austin in a few weeks, where we will also bring some additional upgrades to the car.

Zhou Guanyu (car number 24)

I have positives to take from the weekend, even though we didn’t score. It was nice to see that we could still be so close and have a good pace; furthermore, it being my first time in Suzuka, I learned a lot over the weekend. Overall, it was a typical Sunday with weather changes and very low visibility. At the start, I suffered a spin at the hairpin, meaning I had to return from the bottom. At the restart, there were only two ways to go: you either pitted on lap one to go on inters, or you tried to stay out, hoping for more rain. I was far behind, and there was a lot of spray coming my way from the cars in front, so I felt the best option was to stay out on the wets. We did that, and when we saw the inters were clearly faster, I knew the gamble was lost: still, we gave it a try, and I got to gain my first-ever fastest lap for that. We can be quietly confident for the future: the upgrades we introduced this weekend look positive, but we still need some more time to understand them properly.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal

Today was a difficult day in which the team performed under callous conditions. In the end, despite a quick car, there was no top-ten finish for us: overtaking turned out to be very difficult, even with a pace advantage, and we couldn’t make the progress we wanted after a challenging start. It’s a shame to leave Japan with no points: we now have to regroup and make sure we hit the right note in Austin in two weeks. We know our car and team can battle towards the front of the midfield, but we need to get our work done to be there. One last thought has to go to the incredible Japanese fans: their presence has made the atmosphere of this race unique, despite the weather. They have been superb from Thursday to tonight, and we look forward to seeing them again next year.

Alfa Romeo F1 Team best pictures:

24 ZHOU Guanyu (chi), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, action during the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, 18th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 7 to 9, 2022, on the Suzuka International Racing Course, in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan – Photo Antonin Vincent / DPPI

GIOVINAZZI Antonio (ita), Scuderia Ferrari F1-75 reserve and test driver, KUBICA Robert (pol), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, action during the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, 18th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 7 to 9, 2022 on the Suzuka International Racing Course, in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan – Photo DPPI

KUBICA Robert (pol), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, action during the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, 18th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 7 to 9, 2022 on the Suzuka International Racing Course, in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan – Photo Antonin Vincent / DPPI

ZHOU Guanyu (chi), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, portrait during the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, 18th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 7 to 9, 2022 on the Suzuka International Racing Course, in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan – Photo Antonin Vincent / DPPI

77 BOTTAS Valtteri (fin), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, action during the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, 18th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 7 to 9, 2022 on the Suzuka International Racing Course, in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan – Photo Antonin Vincent / DPPI

BOTTAS Valtteri (fin), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, portrait during the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, 18th round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship from October 7 to 9, 2022 on the Suzuka International Racing Course, in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan – Photo Antonin Vincent / DPPI

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