Bottas "clever" to avoid 'frustration' at Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo team principal Frédéric Vasseur is confident Valtteri Bottas will not be "frustrated" by racing in the F1 midfield this year as the pair share 'similar targets'.

Bottas will race alongside Guanyu Zhou as part of an all-new driver line-up at Alfa Romeo after ending a five-year stay with Mercedes.

After racing at the front of the pack and assisting Mercedes win five constructors' championships in each of his campaigns with the Silver Arrows, it remains unknown how the Finn will adapt to life back in the midfield.

Asked if he shared these concerns in an end-of-season interview with GPFans, Vasseur initially said categorically: "No."

By way of explanation, the Frenchman added: "He could be frustrated if the project is to be champion.

"But he knows perfectly that it's a mid-term project and, for sure, we want to do the best.

"Each session, I want to do a better job than the previous day and I think we need to have this mentality and we will have."

Declaring himself "not worried" by the situation, Vasseur concluded: "He knows also that we are starting from the second part of the grid.

"He's clever enough. He knows perfectly the level of the team, the technology of the team and that it's not an issue as long as the target is similar."

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