09/06/2020
NEWS STORY
Delighted to be back at the wheel, Valtteri Bottas says that today's test at Silverstone was beneficial for his team as its preparations for the season got underway.
"I think it was a very helpful day for the team," said the Finn at the end of his first day back at the wheel of an F1 - albeit a 2018 version - since pre-season testing in February
"Obviously everyone being out from racing and the garage environment for a long time, and there are many new regulations, and we need to be cautious with different things for health. It was good to practice that.
"I think we learned a lot during the day," he added, "how to do things more efficiently and make sure everyone is going to be safe once we eventually start racing.
"I loved to be back in a car," he grinned, "and now I can't wait for Austria, and to be back racing again very soon."
"At least we know that we're going back to racing for the next few months," team boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports. "It's a solid European calendar and everybody back in Brackley and Brixworth is happy that we can finally get back on track.
"We love the competition and we missed that," said the Austrian, who, like the rest of his team, was observing the various pandemic protocols including face masks.
"It's a challenge," he admitted. "We're all aware why that is, but we owe it to our fans to give them racing, come up with a good show... It'll be heavy for all of us, doing triple-headers, not being able to go home, but it's these special circumstances."
Check out our gallery from Silverstone, here.