Mercedes reserve driver and 8-time Formula 1 race winner Valtteri Bottas was seen driving a McLaren F1 car in Barcelona. This was a surprise test, as Bottas was signed for a reserved driver role. Michael Schumacher’s son Mick Schumacher was the reserve driver for some years, and he was relieved after Mercedes signed Bottas. The most interesting part is that McLaren also acquired the services of Bottas as a reserve driver.
Valtteri Bottas testing McLaren in Barcelona
The Finnish driver is now the reserve driver for both McLaren and Mercedes. Recently, Bottas was seen driving a McLaren car in Barcelona. The track has been a testing ground for many F1 teams. The track has a mix of many corners and straights, which is ideal for F1 cars.
With this testing, Bottas has the experience of driving the fastest F1 car of the season. He can also help the Mercedes team develop their 2025 F1 car by taking references from McLaren. Valtteri Bottas played a crucial role in Mercedes winning he constructors championship from 2017 to 2021.
He is also the biggest reason behind Lewis Hamilton’s many race victories in 2017 and 2018 against Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari. After George Russell’s signing, Bottas joined Alfa Romeo (Now Kick Sauber). Last year was a poor outing for the Finnish driver as he didn’t win points for the team.
Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg were signed in as replacements. Zhou went to Ferrari as a reserve driver while Bottas joined his old team, Mercedes, for the reserve role. With his experience, Bottas can guide both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Lewis Hamilton was the main driver till last year, and from this season, Russell now plays the leader role in the team.
The Mercedes F1 team is now the second-fastest team on the grid. In Australia and China, both Kimi and George finished inside the points, with Russell scoring double podiums. Antonelli also had a great rookie debut with points in Australia and the Chinese Grand Prix.
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