At the Dutch Grand Prix, the Alfa Romeo driver stopped in the middle of the main straight at the start of lap 54, prompting the safety car to come out. Valtteri Bottas still has two Ferrari power units available in the chamber, but the Swiss team has chosen not to risk and mount a new engine that allows them to be ready for the next rounds, Singapore and Suzuka, where overtaking is complicated and, therefore, Therefore, punishing on the grid is not ideal.
Apparently, the Finn will debut at least one new ICE, turbo and MGHU-H this weekend at the Italian Grand Prix, although he could mount more elements, which would guarantee him to start from the back of the pack by adding more than 15 position penalty.
Bottas has been one of the most unlucky drivers, and it is that in Austria he already received a penalty that forced him to start from behind for inserting an engine, turbo, MGU-H, MGU-K and a control unit at the beginning of the appointment, before to refit a turbo and MGU-H before the race.
In the Belgian Grand Prix he had to use another ICE, turbo and MGU-H, which added 15 positions to his original starting place, and by not exceeding that number, he was able to start ahead of those who had a sanction that sent directly to the bottom of the grill.
The propellant that will take in Monza will be the sixth of the season, while the turbo and MGU-H will be the seventh. Team principal Frédéric Vasseur recently acknowledged that reliability problems have cost Alfa Romeo this year, and they are not just related to the power unit.
“As always, it’s never just one thing,” he said. “I think the Ferrari engine has made a step forward, we also did the same work on the chassis, and I think Valtteri [Bottas] and Guanyu [Zhou] are performing, it’s a good step.”
“Now in terms of results we also had some hiccups in terms of reliability, that cost us a lot of points in some races where we were in good form, like Jeddah or Silverstone,” he said. “It’s a real shame for us and for the championship, but it is how it is, and we just have to fix it for the second part of the year.”
Do you want to read our news before anyone else and for free? Follow us here on our Telegram channel and you won’t miss a thing. All the information, at your fingertips!
