Bottas wants more testing for young drivers
Valtteri Bottas has been the test and reserve driver for the Williams team for two years now. But the young Finn has not had many opportunities to get behind the wheel of an F1, only on rare occasions during straight-line aerodynamic tests. He therefore believes there should be more test sessions for young drivers in Formula 1.
Valterri Bottas, who has just won the GP3 Series championship, is the third driver for the British team Williams, but this role has not often allowed him to get behind the wheel of a blue and white single-seater over the past two years. The Finnish driver would therefore like young drivers, like him, to have more opportunities to drive Formula 1 cars, and this does not necessarily have to involve sessions during each race weekend, according to him.
More opportunities for testing, particularly for young drivers, would be a good thing. It doesn’t necessarily have to be at every race, but perhaps every two races, so halfway through the season there would be a session for young drivers. That would be good for drivers like me, Valterri Bottas shared in the latest issue of the iGNITION magazine published on the Williams team website.
Bottas is not the only one hoping for more test sessions for young drivers; other drivers and also Jean Todt, the FIA President, share this wish. He suggested the idea of creating an additional test session in 2012 exclusively for young drivers. This would allow them to drive a Formula 1 car on the various circuits of the calendar and thus gain valuable experience for their future careers.
