Formula One: Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas hope to ‘turn the tide’ for Alfa Romeo in Mexico City
- Zhou expects the racing to be tight in Mexico City and said while Alfa had been performing better in qualifying, rivals Vettel and Stroll had the advantage
- Alfa Romeo team boss Frédéric Vasseur believes upgrades the team have made gives his drivers the opportunity to make the third stage of qualifying
While Formula One champion Max Verstappen is chasing a record 14th win of the season, and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez tries to win his home Grand Prix in Mexico there will be an important battle for points taking place further back down the grid.
Just one point separates Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin in the constructors’ championship, with the Italian outfit’s 53 points keeping their noses just in front.
The gap should have been greater, but a disappointing performance at the US Grand Prix, where Valtteri Bottas spun out on the 18th lap and Zhou Guanyu could only make it to 13th after starting at the back of the grid, meant the team left Austin with nothing to show for their efforts.
But team principal Frédéric Vasseur believes the upgrades the team made gives them “the opportunity to turn the tide” and has set Bottas and Zhou the goal of making the third stage of the qualifying.
“That should be our aim ahead of the weekend, to put ourselves in a favourable position to get in the fight for points and secure our place in the championship,” Vasseur said.
Zhou expects the racing to be tight again this weekend in Mexico City, and said while Alfa had been performing better in qualifying, rivals Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll had the advantage when it came to race day.