Bottas feels greater "human effect" on F1 car performance at Alfa Romeo – Motorsport.com

Bottas joined Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season after spending five years with Mercedes, scoring 10 wins for the Silver Arrows and helping it win the constructors’ championship in all five seasons.
But the Finn was never able to compete on a regular basis with teammate Lewis Hamilton, who won the drivers’ title in all but one of their seasons together.
Bottas has taken up more of a senior team leader role with Alfa Romeo, partnering rookie Zhou Guanyu, and has scored 41 of its 46 points so far this season.
Speaking to Motorsport.com in an interview ahead of the summer break, Bottas explained that he feels a greater level of responsibility with Alfa Romeo than he did at Mercedes, making him think more about the team’s long-term plans.
“I definitely feel it, that I want to really help push the team in the right direction,” Bottas said.
“It makes me also think always twice, ‘OK, is this really the direction we want to go to or not?’ It’s really interesting.
“Even for like, next year’s car, always when I hear updates and everything, for me, it’s really interesting to be so involved technically as well. I can already start to imagine like how the car handles.”
Asked if he felt a change in mindset when tackling car development compared to when he was with Mercedes, Bottas said: “Yes. I never managed to be that involved with Mercedes.
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
“It was more like the computer says that this kind of car is going to be the fastest. Most times it worked. But now it’s also nice to have the human effect.”
Bottas told Motorsport.com in the same interview that he felt 2022 had probably been his most enjoyable season to date in F1, aided by the reduced level of pressure compared to what he faced with Mercedes.
Alfa Romeo F1 boss Frederic Vasseur said he could “perfectly imagine” that was the case for Bottas, although he warned against the Finn becoming too relaxed as he looked to lead the team forward.
“For sure, you have more pressure on you at Mercedes, and he was always in the shadow of Lewis, always on a short-term contract,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com.
“I don’t want to put him in a relaxed situation, because this is not good also for the performance. But somehow to send him the message that he has the full support of the team.
“I think if you have a look at all the good sporting projects in the last 20 years, it was always built up around the drivers.”
Hamilton’s F1 commitment never wavered despite struggles – Wolff
Top 10 Brabham drivers ranked: Piquet, Lauda, Gurney and more
Gasly: “Very funny” Tsunoda taking F1 more seriously this year
McLaren F1 driver Norris keen to try rallying in the future
Connecting two of Ferrari’s favourite F1 sons: Villeneuve and Leclerc
Bottas: 2022 probably my most enjoyable F1 season so far
Bottas to start Austrian GP from back of grid after power unit change
Why Bottas is excited by life in F1 after Mercedes
What are the new F1 technical rules for 2023 and why do they keep changing?
Following Formula 1’s rules revolution of 2022 there will be yet more changes next season – primarily concerning the floor – but why does this keep happening?
Gasly: “Very funny” Tsunoda taking F1 more seriously this year
Pierre Gasly believes Yuki Tsunoda “probably took Formula 1 a bit more seriously” through his second season, allowing him to provide better feedback to push the team forward.
McLaren F1 driver Norris keen to try rallying in the future
McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris has revealed he would like to try rallying after seeing it up close during a recent shoot for his Quadrant brand.  
Schumacher: People too quick to criticise in F1 these days
Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher believes people should take more time before dishing out criticism, especially if they don’t have all the facts.  
Grading F1’s 2022 drivers at half-term
Over the first 13 races of Formula 1’s new ground effects era, Max Verstappen has surged into the lead in the world championship over Charles Leclerc. But as the 2022 season prepares to roar back into life, who stacks up as the top of the class, and who must do better? We graded every driver based on their performances so far
The 10 stories to watch out for across the rest of the 2022 F1 season
It’s 13 down, nine to go as the Formula 1 teams pause for breath in the summer break. But what can we expect to happen over the next three months from Belgium to Abu Dhabi? Here’s the key storylines to keep an eye out for the rest of the 2022 season
Nicholas Latifi: The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says  MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray’s Brabham BT46B ‘fan car’ was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton’s first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time F1 champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24. And now it’s happening again at his current team
Why few would blame Leclerc if he leaves Ferrari in future
OPINION: Ferrari’s numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere – just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior.
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez’s path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid

source