Valtteri Bottas qualified sixth for the 2022 Mexican Grand Prix, putting Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN on the third row of the grid. Zhou Guanyu narrowly missed out on a top-ten finish and will start the race in position twelve, from where he has a decent opportunity of moving into the points.
Team leader Frédéric Vasseur said, "Today was a very nice day, we did our job well, but the difficulty is to finish the job tomorrow. To put it another way, this is our greatest Saturday result since Miami, nearly six months ago, demonstrating that everyone on the squad is still giving it their all to achieve a successful season finale. By maximizing the potential of our modifications in the last two races, we've set ourselves up nicely for tomorrow's competition. Zhou also had a strong qualifying session, narrowly missing out on the spot in Q3; however, this is his strongest qualifying since the summer break, so he should be in a strong position to add to his point total in the race. At this point, all of our efforts must be directed at tomorrow's race, where we'll be putting in our maximum effort on the track, in the pits, and in the garage."
A message from Valtteri Bottas (car 77): "In addition to a weekend in which we routinely finished in the top ten, we had a strong showing in qualifying. It's a solid result heading into tomorrow, and I'm proud of myself for turning in my best lap of the weekend at the end of Q3. The car was fast right from the get; we only needed to dial in the configuration to maximize our speed. The track layout was also beneficial, as it featured many slow-speed turns that play to our strengths. I have high hopes since we are in a great position to have a solid fight, and we need points for our championship quest. Nothing is guaranteed in Formula 1, but for now, the fact that we're up there is what matters most."
Zhou Guanyu (car no. 24): "In terms of today's qualifying, I feel I tried my best: ultimately, I came extremely near to going into Q3 again, being only two-tenths off. So far, I've had a rough weekend, and it's been difficult to have a problem-free session, especially on a track that isn't the easiest. The first sector was the most challenging of the day, so getting close to Q3 on my final lap was a great accomplishment; I tried and ultimately failed, but at least I know I left nothing on the track this time. It's fantastic to see Valtteri performing so well today and for both cars improving steadily. A narrow margin separates the top 10 spots, and I believe we will be in a strong position to battle for points tomorrow."
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