Bottas reflects on a season marked by an inconsistent car, setup issues, and a lack of rhythm—and explains just how impressed he is by the structure of the top teams
Valtteri Bottas recently spoke in an interview about his experiences with his new team, emphasizing how much he now appreciates the way established top teams operate.
The Finn describes an intense development phase marked by numerous challenges and technical issues that have accompanied the team-building process.
Bottas describes how, while he was aware that such a transition would take time, the sheer number of problems in detail still surprised him.
Appreciation for the top teams’ processes
“I knew we had to go through this phase, and there was a lot of problem-solving. Maybe even more than I expected, but I basically knew what I was getting into. Absolutely, it makes me really appreciate how well everything works at the big teams,” says Bottas.
He is particularly impressed by the operations at the top Formula 1 teams. Many behind-the-scenes processes there are so well-established that they’re barely noticeable in day-to-day operations.
“You don’t think about a lot of things when you’re in a team that just works perfectly. So much happens behind the scenes—the preparation, the problem-solving. These teams have built that up over many years, and it just keeps going,” he continues.
A difficult phase with an inconsistent car
On the track as well, Bottas describes a difficult phase of the season so far. Above all, the car’s inconsistency and changing setups make it difficult to deliver consistent performance. Additionally, longer breaks between races sometimes result in a lack of rhythm and track time.
“The car often feels different than expected. Even at the start of the year, long gaps between races and little time on the track didn’t help us. I hope we can find a better rhythm now and understand the problems better,” said Bottas.
Problems between the simulator and the track
He sees another problem in the discrepancy between the simulator and reality. The setup isn’t quite right yet, which often necessitates major setup changes after the first free practice session.
“Some of the work done in the simulator doesn’t really match what we see on the track yet. That’s why we often start making major adjustments right after FP1,” explains the Finn.
Overall, Bottas describes the current phase as an important learning process for the entire project. Progress is visible, but the team still has a lot of work ahead of it.
