Bottas looking for Bahrain form in Azerbaijan

Valtteri Bottas heads into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix optimistic he and Alfa Romeo Sauber can rediscover the form they showed in Bahrain’s F1 season opener.

Bottas was eighth to the flag in Bahrain but has struggled since then, finishing 18th in Saudi Arabia before being classified 11th in Australia.

He struggled all weekend in Melbourne and had crossed the line as the last finisher before a time penalty bumped Carlos Sainz behind him in the final classification.

“I am looking forward to getting back to racing this weekend,” Bottas said.

“Baku is a place I like – I’ve won this race and been on the podium here before – and I want to get a good result this time around as well.

“My focus, as well as that of the team, is on keeping improving: the season is still long, and there are still many points to be scored. I used the three weeks’ break to get prepared to be at my best.”

Azerbaijan marks the first of six Sprint events of the year and brings with it a revised weekend format.

Qualifying for Sunday’s race follows after a single, 60-minute practice session on Friday.

Saturday brings with it an all-new qualifying session for the Sprint, which follows later in the day.

The new format has been introduced to increase interest in the weekend and reduce meaningless running.

Previously, Practice 2 on Saturday morning was held under parc ferme conditions meaning teams could do little more than gather data on tyre wear.

“It is going to be interesting to race in the Sprint here, and I am looking forward to this challenge,” said Bottas.

“We have looked into the last few races, and we have been working really hard to get back to the level we showed in Bahrain.

“I am confident we have what it takes to improve: if we all do our homework, we can be in the mix for another points finish.”