© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Today at Silverstone Valtteri Bottas was the first driver to drive a Formula 1 car since the 2020 season was postponed due to the coronavirus crisis.
Today Mercedes was the first team to get out on the track since pre-season testing, in order to go through all the coronavirus prevention procedures and to reacquaint their drivers with extreme g-forces.
For this occasion Valtteri Bottas got behind the wheel of Mercedes’ 2018 title-winning car – the W09 (F1 rules prevent teams from testing with newer machinery).
“Today I think it was a very helpful day for the team,” said the Finn.
“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, 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, and now I can’t wait for Austria, and to be back racing again very soon.”
Testing resumes tomorrow with Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel.
You can watch the video of what Valtteri said below.
How'd the first day back go @ValtteriBottas? ? pic.twitter.com/gmVtPBcZNv
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) June 9, 2020
