Alfa Romeo arrived in Australia looking to continue its strong start to the season after seeing Valtteri Bottas finish sixth in Bahrain and reach Q3 in Saudi Arabia before retiring from the race.
Team-mate Zhou Guanyu also scored a point on his F1 debut in Bahrain, giving the team its first double-points finish since Imola 2020.
But neither driver made it through to Q3 in Australia on Saturday, bringing to an end a 103-race streak of top-10 qualifying results for Bottas. The Finn said a decision to run a smaller rear wing after the fourth DRS zone was removed was likely to blame for missing out.
Bottas was left struggling behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll at one stage in the race, but was able to grab eighth place, while Zhou narrowly missed out on points by finishing 11th.
Vasseur felt the team’s pace had been in line with its performances from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and that Q2 was the only setback it faced.
“It was a step back in quali, I think we f**ked up the Q2,” Vasseur told Autosport.
“But Q1 was very good – we were P6, and the race pace was mega. The issue is that we lost too much time on track behind [Lance] Stroll mainly.
Bottas lost time battling with Stroll in the Australian GP but still came through to the points
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
“But overall, I’m very happy with the pace, I’m very happy with the pace of Zhou also because he did very well.
“I think for us it’s a good weekend, on the same line of the first two. We just have to be a bit more efficient in Q2 probably, and we’ll start in a better position and it will change our weekend.
“Overall, I think we did a good weekend.”
The points haul from Bottas kept the team sixth in the constructors’ championship, leapfrogging Haas after McLaren rose up the table thanks to its run to fifth and sixth.
Vasseur admitted Alfa Romeo was “a bit worried” about how it would perform in Melbourne, meaning further confidence could be taken from its pace in the race.
“I’m a bit more confident for the next two or there because we have also good updates in the pipeline,” he said. “It looks good.”
Leclerc: Ferrari can’t allow pressure to influence F1 2022 approach
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
FIA announces exit of F1 executive director Bayer
Ricciardo explains story behind ‘FEA’ message on F1 helmet
Why Imola’s step back in time is refreshing for F1’s future
Zhou explains “scary” Monaco save that led to new pants radio call
The data that hints of an Alfa Romeo F1 surprise in Monaco
Why Alfa’s 2022 F1 rookie feels less pressure than racing in F2
The longest-serving Red Bull driver revealing F1’s true brutality
Wolff: Hamilton only missing luck to match Russell in F1 2022
Albon explains why he held up Leclerc on drying Monaco F1 track
Sainz calls for ‘more clarity and consistency’ on F1 impeding calls
The longest-serving Red Bull driver revealing F1’s true brutality
His day of days in Formula 1 came at Indianapolis in 2005, a day grand prix racing strives to forget. But Patrick Friesacher, the long-serving Red Bull lieutenant, remains active today driving a two-seater that provides ordinary people with a glimpse of an F1 car’s savage potential, including this writer…
The mistakes putting Ferrari’s bid to end its F1 title drought in jeopardy
OPINION: After taking an early lead in the 2022 Formula 1 title race, Ferrari and Charles Leclerc have together made a series of high-profile mistakes to give Red Bull an advantage after the opening seven races. Here’s why Ferrari cannot afford to make any more errors this season
How Perez has been better for Red Bull in 2022
OPINION: One week on from getting a ruthless Red Bull team orders call at Barcelona, Sergio Perez delivered the team’s sixth Monaco Grand Prix victory and earned a two-year contract extension. This success backs up discernible improvements the team has noticed in driver who is now his country’s most successful Formula 1 racer
Monaco Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2022
Accuracy is more important than ever on a street circuit, and on Monte Carlo’s sodden streets, several drivers stepped up to produce superb performances in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix. But on a track where overtaking is famously difficult, many were already resigned to a difficult afternoon by their qualifying performances
The six key F1 moments that meant Perez won Leclerc’s Monaco GP
After retiring from the lead in Spain with the failure of his turbo and MGU-H, Charles Leclerc looked set to bounce back in style in Monaco. He’d done the hard work in qualifying by securing the all-important pole position and led the wet early phases, but his Ferrari team made critical mistakes in tyre strategy that handed the race to Red Bull and Sergio Perez
The astute engine call behind Brabham’s unique F1 feat
At the ripe ‘old’ age of 40, Jack Brabham remained a competitive force – taking advantage of Formula 1 engine capacities doubling to capture a third world championship. In the second part of our four-part history of Brabham, DAMIEN SMITH charts the team’s emergence as a title-winning outfit before its sale to Bernie Ecclestone
Why 2022 could be Leclerc’s best chance to end his Monaco F1 curse
Charles Leclerc’s ill-fortune at his home Formula 1 race is well-established. But his single lap pace and over longer runs during Friday practice will leave the Ferrari driver upbeat that he can make up for his Barcelona disappointment by finally recording a finish and perhaps even banking 25 world championship points in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix
The inevitable consequence of the Liberty F1 popularity boom
Sell out crowds at Formula 1 races are the norm rather than the exception these days, as grand prix racing is enjoying a massive boom under Liberty Media. But the Spanish Grand Prix highlighted numerous issues some circuits may face as demand for F1 soars
