Bottas 'in a happy place' at motivating Alfa Romeo

Valtteri Bottas says he's in "a happy place" at Alfa Romeo, spurred on by his new team's motivation and the good working atmosphere within the Swiss outfit.

After vacating at the end of last season his plum seat at Mercedes where he had won all of his ten races in F1, Bottas opted for a new challenge with Alfa Romeo, a team that had spent the last two seasons in the lower tier of F1's midfield.

But F1's regulation change offered the Hinwil squad a reset for 2022 which, coupled with Bottas' experience and talent, has pushed the team forward and established it as a regular top-ten contender this season.

So far, Bottas has scored points in six of F1's seven rounds, achieving his best result to date with his new team at Imola where he finished fifth.

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"It's been a good, good start to the season," said the Finn in Monaco where he concluded his Sunday driver P9.

"I've been in a happy place, in a way that I can really try and be the best version of myself and drive the way I want to drive.

"The atmosphere in the team is so motivating, like the people, how much they're now trying, it’s really inspiring for me as well.

"Maybe that pushes you to even more. But yeah, it's been a good start to the season."

But Bottas, who has even enjoyed this season a few wheel-to-wheel battles with his former Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, suggests that things could get even better as Alfa still has a few weaknesses that it needs to cure.

"Obviously, things still are there that need to be better," he added. "We are still working on the race starts, which haven't been great.

"We're still working on the high-speed stability with the car, so that's not the limit for us."

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