Zhou hoping to uphold Alfa Romeo form in Montreal

Zhou Guanyu is hoping to carry over to Montreal next weekend the form he enjoyed with Alfa Romeo last time out in Spain.

The Chinese driver scored his second top-ten finish of the season in Barcelona, adding two points to Alfa's tally in the Constructors' standings.

Zhou acknowledged that Montreal and Barcelona are very different venues, with the former's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve characterized by high-speed sections linked by medium-speed chicanes and a couple of heavy braking zones, with strong traction essential out of the slow-speed hairpins.

But the 24-year-old will head into his Canadian race weekend with a nice tailwind.

"Coming home from Barcelona with points has surely been rewarding, and a good motivation for the entire team to keep up with the extensive work done so far, both on and off the track," Zhou commented in Alfa's Canadian Grand Prix preview.

"I am delighted to be returning to Canada this week, I have very good memories from my first time around here a year ago – and I am keen to make some more.

"We made good progress throughout the weekend in Spain, and overall had a very well-executed race with good tyre management and strategic choices.

"Even though the track is very different from Barcelona, hopefully we will be able to keep up with the performances shown there.

"If we are at our best from the very first practice session, we’ll be able to qualify in a favourable position and extend our point scoring streak on Sunday."

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It was a different story in Spain for Valtteri Bottas who failed to make the Q2 cut in qualifying and who finished a lowly P19 on race day, his sixth consecutive race outside of the top ten.

However, there were mitigating circumstances behind the Finn's mediocre display.

"On my side, the floor damage caused by some debris during the opening lap prevented me from fully extracting the potential of the C43, which was unfortunate given the encouraging pace that my teammate showed," said Bottas.

"Nevertheless, it is a new race weekend, and a chance to get back on track. I spent the time since Barcelona working in the sim and back home in Finland, and I feel ready for the challenges ahead.

"I enjoyed racing here in Montreal in the past, and I am looking forward to this weekend.

"We know our car has the potential to do well, and that will be our aim from Friday onwards, putting Barcelona behind us and adding new points to our tally."

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