Valtteri Bottas sees one key advantage a smaller team has over likes of Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas says it is a much quicker process to put ideas into practice at Alfa Romeo than it is at a big team like Mercedes.

2022 is Bottas’ first season at the Sauber-operated Alfa Romeo team, following his switch from Mercedes.

Bottas had spent five seasons with the Silver Arrows, helping them to Constructors’ Championship glory in all of those seasons.

But having departed what was the most dominant team which Formula 1 had ever seen, dropping down into the midfield at Alfa Romeo, Bottas is now faced with a very different situation.

He has noticed though that his current employer holds one particular advantage over a team like Mercedes, that being the speed at which they can go from pitching an idea to putting it into effect.

Asked by Auto Motor und Sport what the advantages for the smaller teams are, Bottas said: “You can implement things quickly.

“At Mercedes, if I had an idea for a new part on the car or a different setup, it was a long process until it was implemented. There were always a lot of people and departments involved.

“At Alfa, I can walk into the factory and talk directly to the people responsible. For example, I had certain ideas about the mechanical balance of the car. The engineers said: Yes, let’s try it out. And it worked. That’s how we did it with one or two other things, too.”

So, on the flipside, what advantages to the bigger teams enjoy?

“The big teams find it easier to recruit talented and experienced people and put them in the right places,” Bottas explained.

“The development processes are more sophisticated and the wind tunnel quality is consistently good. It’s not one big thing, but many small factors.”

During his time at Mercedes Bottas was never able to mount a title challenge against Lewis Hamilton, instead fighting each season to prove that he deserved another one-year extension to his contract.

But now, Bottas finds himself very much as the lead driver for Alfa Romeo, looking to guide the team up the grid. This is a role which gives him fresh motivation.

“The new role means a lot to me and it motivates me,” Bottas stated. “I’m supposed to help the team find a direction, in tuning the car, in motivating the team and in setting up my young team-mate [Zhou Guanyu].

“The greater responsibility gives you greater satisfaction. I feel like I have something to say now.”

It was then put to Bottas that his Alfa Romeo boss, Frederic Vasseur, believes that a team grows alongside its drivers.

Michael Schumacher and Ferrari is perhaps the most iconic example of that, while Hamilton’s arrival at Mercedes in 2013, replacing the retiring Schumacher, was followed by the Silver Arrows’ rise to dominant heights from 2014.

Bottas though views himself as more of an equal team member at Alfa Romeo, rather than the person that everything should be built around.

“I’m not sure,” said Bottas in response to Vasseur’s theory. “I feel more like an equal team member than the driver around whom everything is to be built.”

And Bottas did not take long to settle into his new team, though there are still a few unfamiliar faces who he must get to know back at the factory in Hinwil.

Asked how long it took to feel at home with Alfa Romeo, Bottas replied: “Not that long in the race team. We already spent a lot of time together during the test drives. That was like a crash course to get to know the people and how they work.

“At the factory, I still have to get to grips with things. There are already one or two faces that I don’t recognise yet.”