Bottas reveals his ‘secret dream’ with Alfa Romeo

Valtteri Bottas still wants a Drivers’ World Championship, but for now he is merely “secretly dreaming” of a podium finish with Alfa Romeo.

The Finn is settling into life with the Swiss-based team following his move from Mercedes and on Wednesday afternoon, he was out on track putting in his first serious data-gathering session with the camouflage-liveried C42 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

With Mercedes having decided their future was George Russell alongside Lewis Hamilton in all-British driver line-up, the options were limited for Bottas who found himself signing for the team that finished ninth of 10 in last year’s Constructors’ World Championship.

The much-changed regulations for 2022 offer Alfa Romeo a big opportunity to substantially improve, but ultimately the 32-year-old knows in the short term at least he is unlikely to be challenging for titles.

Nevertheless, there has been no dulling of Bottas’ ambitions, even though they are currently at a more modest level than had he remained at Mercedes.

It all starts now 🏁#VB77 @alfaromeoorlen @alfaromeoorlen https://t.co/4nEti5Vmbi

— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) February 22, 2022

“I still haven’t given up the goal I have, it’s to one day win the championship, so that will always be the dream,” said Bottas, quoted by Motorsport.com.

“But for now, I dream we can make a good step forward as a team. I feel like consistently scoring points would be a big achievement already, and I’m even secretly dreaming about being on the podium with Alfa Romeo.”

You have to go back a decade to find the last time the Sauber-operated team enjoyed a top-three finish, via Kamui Kobayashi at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.

However, there is the potential for that statistic to change this year if Alfa Romeo can master the new rules or even if one or two of their rivals further up the grid last season get them wrong.

“I feel it will be exciting because with what I’ve learned from the regulations, so many things are now restricted on what you can do in each area,” said Bottas, whose new team-mate is Chinese rookie Guanyu Zhou.

“Between the teams, the car designs aerodynamically and mechanically, it’s not a huge difference you can make. So I think the whole season will be hopefully much closer.

“We will see different drivers on the podium, different orders in the top 10, small teams also will have great opportunities.

“So I think as a whole season, we are looking at something quite exciting. I think it will be good to watch and good to drive.”

PlanetF1 Verdict

Bottas reveals his secret podium dream

Valtteri Bottas has revealed he is dreaming of stepping onto the podium with Alfa Romeo.