Guanyu Zhou secures 11th place in Bahrain, narrowly missing top 10 but showcasing significant progress and team synergy.
Guanyu Zhou finished 11th in the Bahrain Grand Prix, the highest-placed driver not part of the day’s top five teams. Despite not cracking the top 10, the Chinese driver is pleased to have been close.
“I’m happy with the progress the team has made. We were close to the Astons, that’s our pace, but it was tough to keep Lance behind. If I had done so, I would have ruined my tires. There’s still some work to do to get closer to the points,” Zhou observed.
“Throughout the weekend, we focused on minor adjustments with the new car. We’re trying to stay focused and work as a team for Jeddah, where we’re confident we can make a step forward.”
Valtteri Bottas’s race was marred by a pit stop issue, following being caught in the first corner incident involving Nico Hülkenberg and Lance Stroll: “It was lengthy. There was a nut issue that will be investigated to prevent recurrence. I was also unlucky at the corner with some damage, and it just wasn’t my day.”
“But I hope that’s the end of bad luck for the year! It didn’t impact the performance too much, a bit of understeer in some corners, but it was manageable. Zhou’s fight near the points shows we have a good car.”
Alessandro Alunni Bravi has expressed optimism for the season ahead
“We had a very consistent race and proved that we are the sixth team in the championship under race conditions,” stated the team representative, Alessandro Alunni Bravi.
“This outcome should bolster our team’s confidence and motivate us: there’s potential to reach new milestones and enhance our performance. Specifically, making progress in our single-lap performance, even before Jeddah, would significantly increase our chances of competing for points.”
“Guanyu delivered a solid race, making no mistakes and matching Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin for most of the race, which is a promising sign for the season ahead.”
The race posed more challenges for Valtteri Bottas, who was inadvertently caught in the first corner’s crash and later faced a nut issue during his pit stop, finishing 19th.
“Unfortunately, Valtteri was unlucky since his promising start didn’t pay off due to getting involved in the first corner crash: he sustained damage to a fin on his front wing, and we observed the resultant performance drop, hindering his ability to compete better.”
“The pit stop issue, where he encountered a nut threading problem, dashed any hopes of a significant recovery, but he still managed to pull off a strong final stint, serving as a good reference for Guanyu’s tire management. Even under these challenging conditions, we operated as a team.”
“I want to commend the team: after the tough qualifying, which doesn’t reflect our perceived overall performance, we improved our race delivery, thanks also to both drivers’ performances. We’re now focusing on the next steps, aware of the aspects of our car we need to enhance. If we keep working as we have in recent weeks, opportunities will soon arise.”
Zhou Bahrain Grand Prix Progress. Zhou Bahrain Grand Prix Progress
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