'Definitely off the pace' Valtteri Bottas welcomes early season break after disappointing 2023 F1 Australian GP

Admitting that Alfa Romeo is slower than expected, Valtteri Bottas is happy to get a three-week break in April, during which he will work with the team to figure out all the issues and come back stronger for the next race.

Speaking to the media, Bottas explained how his Australian Grand Prix was ruined because the first red flag came out right after he pitted on the first lap of the race, which negated his tire advantage. The same happened at the end of the race when another red flag was waved after he pitted for soft tires, which allowed others to do the same without losing any positions.

The Finn said:

“There was not that much action until the action started at the end! It was for me quite unfortunate that we took a risk on the strategy. I pitted on Lap 1 onto the hard tyre, and [aimed] to do the whole race with the hards. But then the red flag after meant that everyone else was pretty much on the same strategy, so I couldn’t take advantage of that.”

He added:

“Then I pitted for the softs before the end just before the red flag came, and then everybody was on the soft again. I just didn’t have much luck on the red flags today.”

Bottas admitted that Alfa Romeo's car does not have enough pace to finish where they expected. He hopes to use the break to work with the team and improve the car. He opined:

“It has [been a difficult weekend]. Definitely off the pace from where we thought we should be. So, something to look into. I’m actually glad that there is a bit of time before the next race so we can figure out something.”

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Valtteri Bottas not completely satisfied with new upgrades to Alfa Romeo during Australian GP

Prior to the 2023 F1 Australian GP, Valtteri Bottas stated that he was not too happy with the balance of the car after a new front wing and nose were installed on the car. He struggled quite a lot in the first practice session, though the car felt better in the second practice session.

Speaking to the media, the Alfa Romeo driver said:

"At least it felt like we made progress from the first to the second session in terms of the feeling and pace, so we keep working. In FP1 I wasn't entirely happy with the balance of the car. But we tried the new nose and front wing, which was positive. Based on what we learned in FP1, we changed the setup a bit for FT2 and it felt better. It's a bit more stability overall, a bit more load, so think it's a small step."

In the chaotic Australian GP, Bottas finished P11 while his teammate, Zhou Guanyu, finished P2, picking up two points.