Alfa Romeo Sauber is stoked to be getting back on-track so soon after a successful start to its 2022 Formula 1 campaign.

While the likes of Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin all left Bahrain with plenty of work to do, Alfa Romeo is eager to ride its wave of momentum.

The Ferrari-powered outfit was arguably the fourth-quickest team at Sakhir, a significant turnaround from finishing ninth in the 2021 constructors’ championship. It has already accrued almost three-quarters of its points tally from last year.

Marquee signing Valtteri Bottas qualified and finished sixth – despite a disastrous opening lap – while rookie Zhou Guanyu turned 15th on the grid into a points finish on debut.

Days later, Round 2 is already just about upon us, with the F1 circus rolling into Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend.

“Starting the season with two cars in the points is a great feeling, and to be back on track within a week allows us to channel this enthusiasm and momentum into hopefully another good result,” said team principal Frederic Vasseur.

“I was impressed, but not surprised, by how the team approached the weekend and by the level of confidence we had in our means: we know the whole team worked well during the year leading to this and we are eager to show the world what we can do.

“There is a clear feeling we have a competitive car and a determined pair of drivers, and this is boosting morale for everyone in the team.

“However, we are under no illusion about the challenge ahead. We saw how close the field is in Bahrain and how competitive qualifying and the race are.

“We know we need to be at the top of our game and deliver another good weekend; if we do that, having cars in the points is a realistic prospect.”

Bottas is equally keen about getting the impressive C42 fired up again.

“It’s nice to be back in the car soon after a good result,” said the former Williams and Mercedes driver.

“It gives us the chance to build on the strong performance we showed last weekend and fix the things that can be improved.

“It’s still early days in the season and we expect the balance on track to shift backwards and forwards as teams bring updates, but we are not standing still either and we are determined to stay on top of this curve.

“I see real motivation in the team and it was super to see the delight on the faces of everyone there.

“We are going in the right direction and Saudi Arabia will be another race in which we can fight for a good result: the track has undergone some changes to make it even quicker than it was last year.

“I am looking forward to driving the new layout and see if that suits us.”

Free Practice 1 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix commences at 01:00 AEDT on Saturday.