Bottas eager to discover true pace of "special" Alfa Romeo C42

Valtteri Bottas is eager to find out where Alfa Romeo truly stands in the F1 pecking order after the team officially unveiled its "special" challenger for the new season.

The Hinwil-based outfit ran the first pre-season test in a camouflage livery as the Finn, along with Guanyu Zhou and reserve driver Robert Kubica, got a first taste of F1's new regulations.

The test wasn't quite what the former Mercedes driver would have wanted given he only completed 55 laps across 12 hours of running available to him.

With the launch of the new machinery, however, Bottas said: “I am impressed by our new car, the C42.

"I think the livery is really beautiful, the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile did a brilliant job. It’s my first car at Alfa Romeo, of course, which makes it special, and I am really looking forward to being on the grid in Bahrain with it. What is exciting is that we have no idea how that first race is going to pan out.

"Testing helped us confirm our expectations of where we stand, the progress we have made with the car, but now we are getting closer to the moment that really matters.

"Since I joined, I have seen so much motivation within this team: everyone is pushing a lot, trying to work harder than the others to be competitive, and that in turn gives me that extra boost when I am in the cockpit.”

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