Valtteri Bottas wasn’t ‘entirely happy’ with Alfa Romeo’s balance of the car after major upgrades were announced this weekend

Valtteri Bottas recently explained how he was not too happy with his car during the first practice session of the 2023 F1 Australian GP.

Alfa Romeo recently introduced a new front wing and nose for the car, which Bottas tested during the first practice session.

Speaking to the media, Valtteri Bottas explained how he was slightly unhappy with the balance of the car during the first practice session but found his footing in the second practice session. He believes the team has made a slight improvement after adding the new front wing. Bottas said:

"But 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."

The Finn finished 18th in the first practice session but jumped to 12th in the second. He is currently sitting at the top of the midfield drivers' table, just below drivers from all four top teams. However, the competition in midfield will be tight as drivers like Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon are level on points with Valtteri Bottas.

After introducing the new front wing, Alfa Romeo will be bringing several other upgrade parts in the future.

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Valtteri Bottas speaks encouraging words for Sergio Perez battling Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez is somewhat in the same position where Valtteri Bottas was a few years ago. The Finn raced alongside Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes but was never able to win a championship for himself.

Checo is in the same boat as he has Max Verstappen as his teammate at Red Bull. Bottas understands what Perez is going through and advises him to always believe in his qualities. He said (via RacingNews365):

"It won't be easy for him. He will want to win so badly, but he's in the same boat I was in at Mercedes. He's alongside someone who is incredibly hard to beat, someone who is super consistent and has a lot of talent. I would say 'try not to end up in a spiral of always wanting too much. Above all, keep believing in your own qualities and do your own thing."

Although Sergio Perez believes that he can beat Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas believes it could be extremely difficult. Hence, he advised Checo to keep 'doing his own thing'. Perez currently sits one point behind Verstappen in the drivers' championship table.