While the Hinwil-based side have progressed well in 2022 and shown impressive speed early in the campaign, more recent inconsistent form and reliability dramas have hurt their points tally.
Bottas, who joined the team from Mercedes, believes the team were unable to deliver on their early season promise because they did not have the right resource – a problem which is now in resolution course.
Speaking exclusively to Autosport, Bottas said he was confident things were sorted to make things better in the long run.
“Ours is a long-term project, and we are focused on next season, although we have updates that should come to the Japanese Grand Prix,” he said.
“Among the things we have learned during this championship is the reason why we started well and lost ground race after race.
“One of the problems we encountered was related to the production speed of the various components. The team took this aspect very seriously.
“We are aware that we need more resources as we have found ourselves with projects brought to the wind tunnel but not pursued due to lack of staff.
“Next year we will have more personnel available, and it will certainly be an important step for the growth of the team.”
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Photo by: DPPI
Bottas is confident that Alfa Romeo has the resources to recruit the additional staff it needs, and it was just a matter of hiring staff.
“We have a good structure but we need more people,” he said.
“At the moment we are 500. But, to give an example, there are 750 at Williams. So we know what we’re missing: the team is looking for staff. The budget for next year is not a problem.
Although Bottas’ departure from Mercedes means he is no longer fighting for pole positions and wins, he has thrived in the new challenge he faces at Alfa Romeo.
As well as not having to fight for his future in F1, having a long-term contract in place for the first time in his career, he also enjoys the way the team works.
“It’s an environment with less pressure,” he said. “It’s less ‘corporate’ and more racing team, but everyone’s motivation is the same.
“It was very nice to start the season straight away scoring points in Bahrain, and I think this weekend gave an extra boost. The team understood that there would be other races where we could finish in the top ten.
“That boost is still there. When you don’t score points, I see the team disappointed, and that’s the right state of mind. Obviously, the objectives are different from those I had to achieve last year, but in the end the approach is the same: in 2021 the objective was to win, today it is to be in the top ten. .
While the Hinwil-based side have progressed well in 2022 and shown impressive speed early in the campaign, more recent inconsistent form and reliability dramas have hurt their points tally.
Bottas, who joined the team from Mercedes, believes the team were unable to deliver on their early season promise because they did not have the right resource – a problem which is now in resolution course.
Speaking exclusively to Autosport, Bottas said he was confident things were sorted to make things better in the long run.
“Ours is a long-term project, and we are focused on next season, although we have updates that should come to the Japanese Grand Prix,” he said.
“Among the things we have learned during this championship is the reason why we started well and lost ground race after race.
“One of the problems we encountered was related to the production speed of the various components. The team took this aspect very seriously.
“We are aware that we need more resources as we have found ourselves with projects brought to the wind tunnel but not pursued due to lack of staff.
“Next year we will have more personnel available, and it will certainly be an important step for the growth of the team.”
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Photo by: DPPI
Bottas is confident that Alfa Romeo has the resources to recruit the additional staff it needs, and it was just a matter of hiring staff.
“We have a good structure but we need more people,” he said.
“At the moment we are 500. But, to give an example, there are 750 at Williams. So we know what we’re missing: the team is looking for staff. The budget for next year is not a problem.
Although Bottas’ departure from Mercedes means he is no longer fighting for pole positions and wins, he has thrived in the new challenge he faces at Alfa Romeo.
As well as not having to fight for his future in F1, having a long-term contract in place for the first time in his career, he also enjoys the way the team works.
“It’s an environment with less pressure,” he said. “It’s less ‘corporate’ and more racing team, but everyone’s motivation is the same.
“It was very nice to start the season straight away scoring points in Bahrain, and I think this weekend gave an extra boost. The team understood that there would be other races where we could finish in the top ten.
“That boost is still there. When you don’t score points, I see the team disappointed, and that’s the right state of mind. Obviously, the objectives are different from those I had to achieve last year, but in the end the approach is the same: in 2021 the objective was to win, today it is to be in the top ten. .