2023 Italian Grand Prix - Preview
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake heads to the final European race of the season, the Italian Grand Prix. The Monza event is a special one for the team, which celebrates the closest race to home, its partnership with Alfa Romeo and welcomes hundreds of its team members on the grandstands: with so much at stake, everyone will be pushing for a special result at the Temple of Speed.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: “We return to action for our home event, the second leg of the back-to-back and the final European race of the season. Undoubtedly, we endured a difficult weekend in Zandvoort, but we keep working hard to get back in competitive form, starting from this weekend already. The Italian Grand Prix, as always, is an important date in our calendars, being both the closest race to our base in Hinwil, as well as Alfa Romeo’s very own home race, which we plan to honour with several activities throughout the week. Furthermore, we will be also joined trackside by our Hinwil teammates, with more than 150 of our colleagues in the grandstands: our motivation to do well for them will be even higher this weekend. Monza is one of the most iconic venues of the season, where one can almost still hear the engine roar of those motorsport heroes who paved the way for us, and where the passion of the Tifosi is contagious. It’s a great event in the calendar and we can’t wait to get started.”
Valtteri Bottas (Car 77): “Zandvoort hasn’t been our weekend, but that’s already behind us, and we head to Monza with the aim to make a positive step forward in our performance. The Italian Grand Prix will be an important one for our team, as it’s our home race, and having many people from our factory coming to see us will surely give us an extra push, so we will aim to make it extra special for them. I have always enjoyed racing here at the Temple of Speed, and I am looking forward to do it again this weekend: like Zandvoort, it is a place where the fans put up a great show and, hopefully, the track will suit our car better, allowing us to be competitive from Friday onwards to come back with new points to our name.”
Zhou Guanyu (Car 24): “The European season wraps up this weekend, and we travel to Italy for the final stint of the double header. I left Zandvoort with unfinished business, as our race had been rather decent up until the crash. Still, we have new opportunities this weekend in Monza, and I want to put up a good show in front of our home crowd. The Italian Grand Prix is without doubt a unique one: walking around the circuit feels like stepping through motorsport history, and the cheering of the Tifosi is incredible. This weekend, we will aim to give it all out to make a step forward and get back where we belong. Andiamo!”