Bottas, who is the Williams test and reserve driver, collected his GP3 championship trophy in September - Photo Credit: Drew Gibson/GP3 Media Service
Williams have today announced that they will run Valtteri Bottas and Mirko Bortolotti during the Young Driver test in Abu Dhabi next week.
The selection of Bottas comes as little surprise, given that he is the team’s official test and reserve driver. The Finnish driver, who is the current GP3 champion, will be in the FW33 on the Tuesday and Wednesday of the test.
“I’m very much looking forward to these two days in Abu Dhabi,” said the 22-year-old. “It’s something I have waited a long time for and is a dream come true. I have done everything I can to prepare myself for the test physically, and I have done a lot of preparation work with the team in the simulator, so I feel I’m 100% ready.
“So far, I have only completed straightline tests with AT&T Williams, so it will be great to have a go on a proper circuit now! I’m really thankful to the team for giving me this opportunity and I aim to do my best to help them gather as much data as possible next week.”
Bortolotti is the reigning Formula Two champion, an achievement that earned him this chance to drive the F1 car on Thursday.
“I'm obviously really pleased that I have been given the opportunity to test in Abu Dhabi with AT&T Williams,” said the Italian. “I will try to learn the car as quickly as possible and do the best I can for the team. I hope to learn lots of information from the engineers during the time I have and just enjoy it. For sure it's going to be a big day for me and I'm looking forward to it.”
