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Must-fix Alfa issue nearly ruined Bottas’s dream debut
9 hours ago
By Edd Straw
10 Comments
Valtteri Bottas’s sixth place in the Bahrain Grand Prix was a dream result on his Alfa Romeo Formula 1 debut, but a recurring problem with starts almost derailed his race.
Bottas qualified sixth, but dropped to 14th place on the first lap as a consequence of wheelspin off the line.
This was caused by what Bottas described as a “vibration in the clutch” that afflicts the Alfa Romeo C42 on its starts.
“I just had massive wheelspin and cooked the rear tyres as the wheels were still spinning in third gear,” said Bottas of his launch.
“For the rest of the first lap I was still sliding around quite a lot and being a sitting duck.
“Sometimes, we have this vibration in the clutch. It happened 50% of the time [so far], and when it happens it’s quite easy to break traction.
“So it’s on our job list and we’re working on it.”