Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was on the morning shift at the Circuit de Catalonia on Wednesday, the flying Finn emerging for his first run as the track opened at 09:00, completing 70 laps before the hour-long lunch break at 1pm.
The day’s work focused on analysis of new aerodynamic development parts, followed by further car set-up work for the early races and data collection on the 2017 Pirelli tyres, with both drivers completing similar programmes.
Valtteri declared himself happy with the day, especially after setting the quickest time overall.
“It was another good half-day in the car for me. We managed to complete our programme as planned and I have to say that I felt much better in the car today with the changes we've made. We're definitely making good progress as a team and I'm feeling more and more comfortable in the car every time I go out on track,” he said. “We were focusing on shorter runs today. In the first part of the morning we did lots of aero tests to evaluate some upgrades and everything seems to be going in a positive direction.”
“There's still plenty of work to do so we need to maximise the next two days of testing. Fastest laps don't matter in testing. What matters is where you are when you get to Melbourne. I'm just pleased we managed to complete the full programme. I learned so much from today's running. Now I'm just concentrating on tomorrow.”
