Valtteri Bottas looking forward to Australia

“I think our last day of testing was very good, until a very unlucky breakdown ended our day. » Explain Valtteri Bottas, 2nd time of the day on Sunday and the most diligent driver on the track on this final run with no less than 108 loops completed. With 2202,684 km covered between the two sessions on the Sakhir track, the Finn is the driver who has smoothed the Bahraini asphalt the most. “Overall it was another good session as we made a lot of progress with the set-up of the car. I think we are ready for Melbourne. The team did an excellent job and thanks also to Mercedes. We still have to work very hard over the next two weeks, but overall I'm happy with how testing went for us. As I didn't get a chance to set a fast time on the supersoft tires, I'm looking forward to picking up where we left off when we arrive in Melbourne. »

Rod Nelson, head of testing, is not surprised by the premature end of the day for the team. Whole grained with an engine problem. “We did long runs after the lunch break to judge tire degradation before moving on to a qualifying simulation. At the end of the session, we experienced an engine failure due to the very high mileage. With the number of laps we did, it wasn't a big surprise. However, with a total of 936 rounds under our belt, we're still happy that this was the only time the FW36 broke down. Everything seems to be working as it should. »

The Williams stable F1 is heading towards a new big event this week with the presentation of its official livery on March 6. It should be the Italian Martini which will be announced as major sponsor for 2014 of the team founded by Frank Williams. Answer Thursday.

Discover the analysis of the last week of winter testing in Bahrain carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1950 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening at 22 p.m. in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.