F1: Bottas: Mercedes bend and flex an amazing feeling
Valtteri Bottas has described how his Mercedes feels as if it’s “bending and flexing” through the corners at Circuit de Catalunꦺya having caught the eye during a blistering race simulation on the penultimate day of F1 testing.
Valtteri Bottas has described how his Mercedes feels as if it’s “bending and flex💎ing” through the corners at Circuit de Catalunya having caught th⭕e eye during a blistering race simulation on the penultimate day of F1 testing.
The Finnish driver didn’t target any lap records at the F1 testing venue, while Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel punched in a new circuit record of 1m 17.182s on Pirelli’sꦫ new hypersofts, but that was because Mercedes opted not to run on the softest compound as i😼t is likely to be unrepresentative at the Spanish circuit.
However, B𓃲ot𓃲tas did catch the eye with his race simulation pace in the Mercedes W09 on Thursday which showed glimpses of up to a second quicker than its Ferrari a๊nd Red Bull rivals. While the Finnish driver played down the times comparisons given the unknown fuel loads and circumstances each team was running at, he did remark at how fast and planted his F1 car felt through high speed corners at the Spanish circuit.
“I’ve never driven anything like that,” Bottas said. “It was the s⛦ame last year here but now again, they’re so much quicker, quicker than before especially the grip in the high-speed corners.
It’s just amazing, Turns 1, 2 and 3. Turn 9, you go so quickly you feel the whole car. It’s like bending and flexing - an amazing feelin🦩g.
“It d♍efinitely feels a better car but like I said last week, we need to be also careful wi🅷th the new tarmac here it makes the track a bit quicker so for sure the car will feel with more.”
Bottas accepts if his feeling in the Mercedes does fall away in a similar style to his mid-seaosn dip in form from last year he will have to adapt to the W09 rather than exp💧ecting the car to come to him.
“What I felt so faℱr with the handling♚ of the car and the balance in general, how it behaves, it definitely hasn’t gone in the wrong direction,” he said. “I think we’ve made some improvements, the balance is more together.
“For my driving style if it suits more? Iꦛ think it’s up to me to a🐎djust the car. It’s been a good beginning with the new car.”
