Bottas questions new package

Mercedes hidden advance by not seeking to set the best times with the W10 at the Barcelona tests (Spain), but the potential of the new Silver Arrow fools no one since the champion team has never been defeated in a season since the installation of the Power Unit.

The star team took advantage of the second week of testing at the Catalunya circuit to test a new aero package. Valtteri Bottas seems to be satisfied with it even if we will have to wait for the first GP of the season in Australia (March 17) to know if the new Mercedes is the benchmark for the start of the year.

“The new aero package is better but will it be enough? This is the big question, said Valtteri Bottas. I can clearly feel improvements compared to last week in terms of the general stability of the car, the overall downforce but we are aware that we still have things to unlock. Although we are getting closer to the end of the tests, we are learning a lot on each relay, each day. We still need to improve but there will still be time after testing to learn more in preparation for Melbourne. »

Valtteri Bottas also defended his team's choice to work with different packages during winter testing.

“I think it was the right thing to do, the right approach. The team made its calculations so that we had the maximum possible time to work on the new aerodynamic configuration. It would naturally be nice to have the best car possible in the first tests but what matters is to have the best car on the race weekends”, said the Finn.

“The new package has been in development for a long time. It wasn't like we found out last week that we had to bring something new. This has been planned for a long time and I have no doubt we will try to make further improvements for Melbourne as well. Given the new aerodynamic rules, I expect to see more marked improvements than last year, the cars are so complex. The season is long and we will have to make the right decisions in terms of development. »

Valtteri Bottas confirms that the potential displayed by the Team is a source of questions before the season opens.

“Ferrari still looks strong. A lot can change between now and Melbourne but they clearly have a competitive package. We need to extract more performance from our new package to properly compete with them, he added. We still have concerns about the balance of the car but I have full confidence in the team. We have already found ourselves in delicate situations in the past. We had weekends where we were not in the game, nor competitive. Will it be enough to win races? This is the total unknown at the moment. But we will give everything. »