F1
Alfa Romeo – Aston Martin duel: Alfa won a battle… but not the war
Alfa Romeo and Valtteri Bottas managed to beat the two Aston Martins © Florent Gooden / DPPI
The duel between Alfa Romeo et Aston Martin turned to the advantage of the Italian-Swiss team this weekend, in São Paulo. The Hinwil team gained a small additional point from the British team at the end of the penultimate round of the season, thanks to Valtteri Bottas. The Finn had a solid race at Interlagos, running in the top 6 for much of the race before holding off the Aston Martins of Lance stroll at the end of the race.
Alfa Romeo relieved by its performance
A relief for Frédéric Vasseur's team which, however, was a little disappointed, since the No. 77 car could still have aimed better. “We can be satisfied to leave Brazil with an increased gap on our closest rivals, declared the French director after the Brazilian Grand Prix. We had a good start and were able to run in 5th place during the race. It's a shame that the Safety Car canceled out our advantage and put us within range of other cars, but we still got the points we wanted. »
Valtteri Bottas, who had a second Grand Prix in the points after Mexico, would also have liked to finish higher in the standings but is pleased with his essential result for his team. “I'm happy with the race and we're happy as a team. Everyone did a very good job: going from 14th place on the grid to 9th place at the flag is a good result. We could have been even higher, but the safety car at the end didn't really work in our favor. »
Aston Martin far from giving up
Conversely, Aston Martin may have some regrets. Sebastian Vettel was in the top 6 for a long time, like Bottas, but was also trapped by the safety car at the end of the race. Lance Stroll, with fresher tires, was unable to get the better of Bottas. Now relegated to 5 points behind Alfa Romeo before the final explanation, the British team may have lost a battle, but certainly not the war. “I would like to thank the teamwork of both drivers today. Lance [Stroll] helped Sebastian [Vettel] gain ground after his second stop, then Sebastian moved aside to let Lance challenge Valtteri [Bottas] for ninth. We leave encouraged by our pace and we will do it again one last time in Abu Dhabi next weekend. »
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Dorian Grangier
A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.
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14/11/2022 at 03:55 a.m.
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