In the round-up: Valtteri Bottas is pleased Alfa Romeo has rehired his team mate for next year.
In brief
Zhou’s lack of mistakes under pressure impresses Bottas
Bottas said it is “good news” that Alfa Romeo have handed Zhou Guanyu a contract for a second season with the team in 2023.
Both drivers joined Alfa Romeo this year, Bottas arriving from Mercedes on a multi-year deal and Zhou stepping up from Formula 2. Zhou’s rookie season in Formula 1 has included several retirements due to technical failures a car-destroying crash at Silverstone, but he has also scored three points finishes and cut his deficit to his team mate in qualifying. Zhou’s 2023 deal was announced this week.
“I think it’s good news, because following him alongside as a team mate, I really can say that he deserves the spot in the team and in F1,” said Bottas.
“He’s really mature for his age and experience, and he’s been learning a lot throughout the year and his pace has been increasing in qualifying and races throughout the year and he has done very few mistakes. So I think it’s good news, and I’m sure he keeps evolving and keeps improving in the future.”
When asked what had impressed him most about Zhou, Bottas replied: “How few mistakes he’s done. Because it’s not easy to jump into F1 and for sure, he’s got lots of outside pressure as well being the first Chinese driver and everything, but he’s dealt with everything in a really good way.”
Gasly: Fluid loss impacting focus at Singapore “the biggest challenge”
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly believes the “biggest challenge” for F1 drivers during the Singapore Grand Prix is the impact of fluid loss on brain function.
Cognitive performance decreases when there is less oxygen available for the brain, and when drivers sweat they lose some of the crucial oxygen their body carries. They can lose several kilograms in weight during this weekend’s race.
“We lose up to 2.5kg/litres, because it’s mainly fluids, from our bodies. So the impact it does on our focus and concentration [is significant],” said Gasly.
“There’s the physical demand, but there’s also the challenge of the focus where you’ve got to stay super-alert because driving full speed between the walls, you need to be extremely precise where you put the car. That’s usually when it gets tough, where you’ve got to be still really at the limit of the car, playing with centimetres,…
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