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Valtteri Bottas believes there should be “no limits” to what Alfa Romeo can achieve in Formula 1 but his more pressing goal is to ensure “no one loses hope” after the team’s recent struggles.
Bottas has spent the last five seasons winning races and championships with Mercedes but is now at Alfa Romeo, which has spent that same period as a sporadic points scorer in the lower part of F1’s midfield.
As a veteran now of 178 grand prix starts and winner of 10 grands prix, Bottas is the undisputed team leader alongside F1 rookie Zhou Guanyu.
While he does not want to put too much emphasis on himself as the ‘number one’ driver, Bottas is relishing the responsibility of being a motivational force at Alfa Romeo.
His early-season pep talks have already begun, declaring around the formal launch of the Sauber C41 that “we shouldn’t put any limits on what is our target” for F1’s new ruleset.
And while he is also “realistic” about Alfa Romeo’s prospects after a “challenging” couple of years, Bottas is adamant that the team should be inspired by past underdog glories, when Sauber was a regular points finisher and podium challenger and won a grand prix during its BMW-owned years.
“I think it’s important to make sure that the people you work with know about the past and the history and the great moments the team has had before,” Bottas said.
“There’s so much heritage with this team, with the brand as well, that maybe after a couple of tough years, people need a bit of a push, a bit of motivation that we can do it.
“I need to make sure that no one loses hope. And if you’ve done it before, if you’ve been at the top before, you can be there again.
“We need to work together on that to make sure that we know what is possible and achievable.”
Bottas has no intention of this being empty rhetoric. It comes from five years at a title-winning, all-conquering organisation that has thrived on a positive, fulfilling culture.
“I’ve been inside a team that knows how to win, what it really takes in terms of the teamwork, in terms of the machinery and how you work,” said Bottas.
“With the team spirit, I’ve learned so much that actually if you can get the spirit up, it really boosts the performance in every area.”
He added: “I’m going to help the team with all the experience and expertise I’ve gathered, I’ve learned.
“All my years in Formula 1 has made me so much stronger, so much smarter. So much stronger with the technical knowledge as well.
“There’s so many things that I’ve already been able to guide, information I’ve been able to give to the team, and there will be so much in the future.
“It’s going to be hard work. I’m more than ready to do my part on that and make sure the people around me do that.”
The challenge of being Alfa Romeo’s ‘Mr Motivator’ has already started, though. While much of Bottas’s positive sentiments have come in the vague context of what Alfa Romeo might achieve in 2022, or longer-term, he and the team have a more pressing issue. Their season has started poorly.
Alfa Romeo’s first test was beset by multiple issues from aggressive porpoising to mechanical failures.
The upshot is the team goes into the second test in Bahrain on the backfoot and Bottas has barely driven his new car – he had the lowest mileage in Spain of any full-time driver.
Still, Bottas’s early-season optimism remains undimmed.
“I’ve got some kind of feeling of course and the nice feeling is that I definitely feel that there is potential there’s some strong areas in the car in certain type of corners,” he said.
“But also, of course, immediately noticed points to work on with the balance, with some of the behaviour.
“Nothing that we shouldn’t be able to fix. It feels like we’re still in very early stages of actually discovering the car.
“For me, it was quite limited running that we had only two different tyre compounds with very few set-up changes. So, there’s still so much more to discover.
“That’s why we’re really aiming to work hard between the tests and hopefully get a bit better understanding in Bahrain.
“There’s work to do. I’m not saying anything against that. But also, I feel like there is potential in this package and I’m looking forward to discovering more about it with the team.”
Bottas is staring at a glass he thinks is half-full. He’ll need to keep it that way if he is to make good on his promise to be Alfa Romeo’s inspirational force.
