10/11/2021
NEWS STORY
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN heads to South America for a true Formula One classic, the Brazilian Grand Prix, aiming to extend its points-scoring run in this weekend's race. The team will be keen to add to its tally after scoring in two of the most recent four races, with an uptick in performance auguring well for the final races of the season.
Brazilians' love for Formula One needs no introduction. This is a land of passion for our sport, with the crowds on the grandstands providing a show as entertaining as that on track - and that's saying a lot, as the Brazilian Grand Prix is very often a thrilling event. This is a land that has given Formula One some of the most legendary drivers, the Sennas and Fittipaldis and many others who wrote historical pages of our sport. This is a land that has created the rhythm of samba: their heartbeats are just naturally faster.
But it is not in samba that Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN finds its inspiration for this race. Pitched into a fight, we will fight with flair. We will prove naysayers wrong with rhythm, agility and strength: our inspiration is in capoeira.
A fight it will be: in the middle of a triple-header, after eighteen gruelling rounds already, Brazil is a race where teams are tested physically and mentally. Remaining lucid is a struggle against lactic acid and mental fog: it takes every crumb of focus - but this is what we train for.
Eight points in the last four outings give us hope for more: they spur us on to land a few more punches between now and the end of the season. Like a capoeirista, we will dodge the blows coming our way, swinging and flailing, looking for an opportunity. It'll be captivating to watch, but for us it's just the determination that matters.
Four rounds left this season. Four chances to add to our tally. Four opportunity to land blows. The music has started and the capoeira is about to begin.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "Finishing in the points in two of the last four races is a good outcome, but there is more we can achieve. We were in the realistic conditions to bring home points in all these races and in Mexico we could have had two cars in the points, and these are the opportunities we have to take between now and the end of the season. As always, we are working hard, all together as a team, to have some good results as we bring the year to a close: the performance in the last few outings has been promising and I think we can be in the middle of the fight once more in Brazil. The team is undergoing a massive effort as it reaches halfway through this triple-header: bodies and minds are tired but we need to pull together and fight on. We will need to be sharp and deliver a flawless weekend, but I am confident we can do so."
Kimi Raikkonen: "I was pleased with our performance in Mexico and I hope we can be on a similar level in Interlagos. Last week's race was not that eventful for me, but we got points so I am happy with the outcome: in the end, the result was good so I don't care if I was on my own for most of the afternoon. Interlagos is a place that holds some very good memories for me: it's where I won the world championship in 2007 so to race here one last time is going to be nice. Of course, once I am in the car I don't think about these things, but it's nice to be back here after missing out when the race was cancelled last year."
Antonio Giovinazzi: "Some races are good, some are bad but I try to look at the positives: we showed good pace as a team in Mexico and I am confident it will be the same here. We have been fighting for the top ten in every race lately and I am determined to bring home the points this weekend. Brazil is where I had my best ever result, in 2019, and it'd be nice to add another good race to this record: what I can guarantee is that I will keep giving everything I have in every race, every lap, every corner."