The discourse surrounding the middle of the 2021 Formula 1 season was dominated by two names, Valterri Bottas and George Russell. This was remarkable considering that for the first time in the hybrid era, Mercedes faced firm competition with Max Verstappen leading the charging Red Bull.
Bottas and Russell were both competing for the same seat, the second drive at Mercedes partnering World Champion Lewis Hamilton, although at points it seemed possible that the driver may retire. Bottas has performed excellently in this position, securing plenty of Mercedes one-two finishes as well as second place in the driver's championship. However, unlike Hamilton, he has been caught in traffic and criticized for his abilities as a defensive driver, especially after failing to slow down Verstappen at the Sochi Grand Prix. Russell has not been perfect this season either; most notably crashing with Bottas at Imola.
Ultimately in the fall out of this, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Woolf has plumped for Russell, who numerous pundits have suggested is a future World Champion. But with Russell being promoted from the Williams to the Mercedes team, it meant that Bottas has had to find another car to drive.
Bottas started his Formula One career with Williams, who operate in partnership with Mercedes; however, instead of returning to the British constructor, he has found a home at Alfa Romeo.
Bottas will guide Alfa Romeo to new-found success.
Alfa Romeo Have A Long History
Alfa Romeo Orlen Formula One Racing is the renamed Sauber team. The Italian marque has a long history in Formula One, appearing in 1950 at the inaugural Formula One race but has been absent from the grid since the middle of the 1980s.
The return saw the team acquire Formula One's 21st-century paddock staple, Kimi Raikkonen, a less steady hand found its way to the team's second seat, Antonio Giovanazzi, or as he is affectionally known by fans Italian Jesus. Sourcing their engine from Scuderia Ferrari the team stays as Italian as possible with Giovanazzi being the only Italian driver currently on the grid.
However, not all has gone well for the team. According to Mostly F1, the team has only scored 11 points this season, putting them into 9th, behind Williams with nearly half as many points and only ahead of Haas, who are only racing each other.
In September, it was reported by Sky Sports that Kimi Raikkonen would retire from Formula One, Alfa Romeo has seized this opportunity to completely overhaul their driver line up. After much dithering, Antonio Giovanazzi is out of a drive for the 2022 season.
A Fresh Start
As written in The Guardian, Zhou Guanyu has been announced as Formula One's first Chinese driver and will be at Alfa Romeo alongside Valteri Bottas. Guanyu is by no means a driver in need of education from an older driver. At 22, he is young and shows potential as a part of the Renault Driver Academy and challenger in Formula 2.
However, as The Guardian note, he is still 36 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, who was also in the running for the chance to drive for Alfa Romeo. Rarely do teams have a completely new driver line up for a season, often one leaves, and the other is promoted to the first driver position.
No matter how individualistic, standing on the podium in Formula One is still a team sport, and thus, too many variables changing at the same time is undesirable and leads to unpredictable results. Steiner is avoiding this over at Haas by keeping both of their rookie drivers on the team for 2022. Valteri Bottas has proven himself to be a team player at Mercedes, allowing Hamilton to pass, unlike his predecessor Nico Rosberg.
He may not be as seasoned as Raikkonen or a World Champion, but having first raced in Formula One in 2013, the Finnish driver has a wealth of experience to offer to Alfa Romeo as they develop their driving talent and the team behind the scene.
Old Drivers And Struggling Teams
There is precedent for drivers on their way out of Formula One joining struggling and underperforming teams in their final years in the sport. The most famous example of this would be Schumacher, who took Ferrari from an underwhelming third place in the Constructor's World Championship in both 1994 and 1995 into a period of dominance.
Schumacher did it again, returning to the track in 2010 and helping to bash out the issues with Mercedes, formerly known as Brawn GP. A contemporary example to Schumacher would be Coulthard, who did this somewhat thankless task of being an experienced hand for the then-new team Red Bull. Currently, Sebastian Vettel is doing this for Aston Martin, hoping to guide the development of the Stroll's team away from the copied "Pink Mercedes".
Acquiring Raikkonen from Ferrari, the team must have hoped for this effect in previous seasons; however, for whatever reason, it didn't happen. Bottas is, to some extent, the gray man of the Formula One grid, falling into the background behind Lewis Hamilton. Being in the background doesn't mean that Bottas doesn't know anything about Formula One; after five years of racing at Constructor's Championship holder Mercedes and four years at Williams, he knows what a successful Formula One team looks like.
Being able to mentor upcoming star Zhou Guanyu, lead the development of the team's car, and how Alfa Romeo operates will enable the constructer to be competitive under the new regulations. Bottas' mark on Formula One will be an improved Alfa Romeo.