Valtteri Bottas completed a good afternoon of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Tuesday, running 102 laps after taking over from Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team team-mate Lewis Hamilton at lunchtime.
The Finn survived a small off when he lost control on the exit of turn nine and brushed the barrier, but said it was nothing to worry about as it was all about testing the limits ahead of the new season, although he did implicate an unexpected tail wind as the reason for the rotation.
Bottas completed a race simulation amid his lengthy run, and revealed that it was another day of learning about the characteristics of the W08 as he continues his preparation for the new season.
“I think it was another good test day for the team,” said Bottas. “We did so many laps again and completed all the runs that we had planned to do. I worked on race simulations this afternoon. It was quite tricky with the windy conditions but I’m sure that we can learn a lot from the data.
“I had a small off but it wasn’t anything serious. I lost the rear end with a gust of tail wind that was quite sudden. This is testing – you need to find the limits.
“It’s interesting to learn more about the new car – not just for me personally, but for us as a team. All the set-up work we’ve done has been very valuable. Two more days to go – I’m looking forward to it.”
