After Alfa Romeo was compelled to make modifications on Valtteri Bottas’ engine, the Finn will begin the season with an engine grid penalty.
After a mechanical issue with his Alfa Romeo in Bahrain on Friday morning, Valtteri Bottas is now on the last permitted engine component.
When Bottas radioed in to report a misfire at the start of first practise, he had only just arrived on the Bahrain International Circuit.
After coming back to the pits, he sat out the most of the practise until returning in the final ten minutes. The problem, though, had not been properly resolved, and he was quickly returned to the garage, completing without a lap time on the board.
The FIA disclosed at the end of the day that Alfa Romeo had replaced the Control Electronics components on Bottas’ Ferrari engine.
Moving on to his second component for 2022, the Sporting Regulations limit the number of such parts that can be employed in a season at two.
As a consequence, Bottas might face a grid penalty if he needs a new Control Electronics in the future. He will accept a 10-place grid penalty if and when he needs it.
“I think they located the issue – some electrical issues,” Bottas told media, including RacingNews365.com, when asked about his concerns for the remainder of the weekend.
“It shouldn’t happen again, but it’s not the first issue we had, so we need to keep an eye on every single thing to make sure that nothing happens.”
Bottas is curious to see where Alfa Romeo stands in the rankings
Bottas bounced back from a difficult morning by going out in the evening session and putting his Alfa Romeo in 6th place, barely a tenth of a second slower than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen’s best time.
The Finn said he felt good after the day since he was able to get his weekend back on track.
“The morning was disappointing, but everyone did a good job finding the issue and getting it fixed for FP2, because [that] was [the] important session, and we got plenty of laps in,” he said.
“[It’s a] positive feeling. For sure, [there are] still things to improve, but [it’s] not bad.
“It’s always tricky to say from lap times, but we can see that we’re not too far off, so that’s a good sign.
“We still need to try when it’s full power but, so far, it’s been really nice to drive, so no issues from that side.
“We’ll see once everyone turns up [their engines for qualifying] where we actually are.”
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Alfa Romeo, F1, F1 2022, Formula 1, Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas
