Alfa Romeo eying a big step forward at the British Grand Prix

Like many Formula 1 teams, Alfa Romeo endured a difficult trip to the Styrian Alps last week. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu left Red Bull Ring behind without a point to show for their efforts, as both drivers finishing outside the scoring in Saturday’s F1 Sprint race, the Sunday Grand Prix.

As the team heads to Silverstone for this weekend’s British Grand Prix, they are looking forward to getting back in the fight, and bringing home some much-needed points.

In the team’s media preview of the British Grand Prix, Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi noted that Alfa Romeo is bringing a package of upgrades to Silverstone, upgrades that he hopes will change their course.

“We head to Britain this week, after a challenging weekend in Austria, where our performances didn’t quite match what we had shown in previous races,” said Alunni Bravi. “Still, we must keep our spirits up: we are bringing a new, important package to Silverstone, on which the team back at base in Hinwil has been working hard over the past months, and it’ll hopefully help us make our way back to the top ten.”

As Alunni Bravi points out, some of the competition has seen a change in their fortune thanks to recent upgrades. Both McLaren — with Lando Norris’s upgraded MCL60 — and Ferrari seemed to take a big step forward in Austria.

Now Alunni Bravi is hoping for something similar for Alfa Romeo.

“We have seen how upgrades have been fundamental for our main competitors to make a step forward: that will be our main aim, for the second leg of this back-to-back,” added Alunni Bravi. “We remain confident, and eager to show that Austria just wasn’t our weekend, but we still have it in us to battle through the field – and promptly change the tide again.”

As for Bottas, Silverstone is a circuit where he has enjoyed some of his best days in F1. During the 2014 season with Williams, Silverstone was the sight of his first-ever second-place finish, despite starting 17th. All told, Bottas has six points finishes in Silverstone, with four podiums.

But he has yet to taste victory at the British Grand Prix.

“I am looking forward to racing in Silverstone this weekend, another timeless classic on the calendar. We are bringing a new package there, which should help us regain the form we had shown last month,” said Bottas. “We know on which areas we need to work on to improve our performance, and everyone in the team, both trackside and back home in Hinwil, has been putting all their efforts on it. It will be crucial to get these upgrades right from the first practice sessions, to put ourselves back in the fight.”

Zhou’s first British Grand Prix came a season ago, and while it was not his first race at Silverstone, it is one he would like to forget. He was involved in an opening-lap crash that flipped his Alfa Romeo and propelled it upside-down into a barrier. That drew a red flag, and he was taken to a nearby hospital for observation, before being released.

“We will have some new parts on the car for this race, which should allow us to make a further step forward: I am keen to get back on track and extracting their full potential. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find more pace, which we lacked in Austria,” said Zhou. “Difficult races can happen; what is important, now, is that we maintain our focus and keep working towards getting back into the top ten right away.”

He is ready to put last year behind him, and is aiming for a much different result at Silverstone in the days ahead.

“Of course, I remember the crash I was involved in last year; that, however, is a closed chapter, and has been ever since I returned home on that same day,” added Zhou. “This race is important to me, as I have spent so much time in the UK: all my motivation this weekend will go into doing well in a place I know very well.”